BERLIN: Consumer confidence in Germany saw a boost in December as shoppers hit the stores for Christmas and looked ahead to the new year with optimism, a poll found on Friday.
After stabilising in November following several months of decline, "consumer sentiment showed solid development in December," market research company GfK said in a statement.
"The consumer climate is continuing its upward trend."
Looking ahead to 2015, GfK's headline household confidence index was forecast to rise to 9.0 points in January from 8.7 points in November.
"Consumers apparently now assume that the period of economic weakness in Germany will pass and the domestic economy will return to growth in the coming months," it said in a statement.
The GfK reading is based on responses from about 2,000 households regarding their expectations about pay and the economy as a whole in the coming months, as well as their willingness to spend money.
Sentiment in Europe's top economy has stabilised recently, as concerns about the impact on investment of the crises in Ukraine and the Middle East have subsided.
On Thursday, the widely-watched Ifo business climate index showed solid gains in December after rising for the first time in seven months in November.
The HDE retail association has forecast total sales from the Christmas season of 85.5 billion euros ($105.0 billion), up 1.2 percent from last year.
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