German Consumers Aren't Buying the Resilience Story: ING Economic Analysis

Key Takeaways

• 1.The GfK consumer confidence indicator declined to its lowest level since May, driven by labour market uncertainty and inflation fears.
• 2.Income expectations dropped sharply and willingness to save rose, undermining prospects for private consumption in the coming months.
• 3.The weakness in consumer sentiment challenges the broader narrative of a cyclical rebound suggested by recent Ifo index and PMI improvements.

Report data

This morning’s disappointing consumer confidence puts the latest improvements in Germany’s other leading indicators into perspective

Reports in this series

Snap is shown in chronological order through this edition, published on September 25, 2026.

Part of the Snap series — view all 63 editions

Looking for the latest edition? ING Think us consumers remain under pressure as sentiment slides (Oct 9, 2026)

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4. Sep 24ING Think german ifo sep26