FRANKFURT: Consumer confidence in Germany, which has proven surprisingly resilient to the eurozone debt crisis in recent months, is being increasingly eroded by high oil prices, a poll found on Friday.
Market research company GfK released its latest index of household confidence, with the barometer forecast to slip to 5.6 points in May from 5.8 points in April, after already slipping fractionally the previous month, a statement said.
"Consumer sentiment in Germany is mixed in April," GfK said.
"While households are more optimistic about the general economic outlook, income expectations are down slightly and the propensity to buy has fallen markedly," the institute said.
The headline consumer confidence index is based on responses from around 2,000 households with regard to their expectations about pay and the economy as a whole in the coming months, as well as their willingness to spend money.
"Prices at Germany's petrol pumps are rising from one record to the next and that is taking its toll on consumers," GfK diagnosed.
"Inflationary fears are on the rise. Consumers are seeing their purchasing power eroded as they are having to spend more and more of their income on energy, and petrol in particular," the institute explained. "That means they have less money at their disposal for other purchases."
Last week, the key Ifo business climate index rose for the sixth time in a row in April, underscoring the resilience of Europe's biggest economy to the debt crisis.
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