• GfK consumer sentiment -29.2 vs -27.6 expected
• Prior -29.8; revised to -29.7

The estimate still points to a recovery from the lows seen in May and June, but not as much as one would hope for. The consumer climate remains weak but the good news is that there is some stabilisation now at least.

The moderate improvement going into July comes from slightly more positive income expectations, while the willingness to buy and the willingness to save remain largely at the previous month’s level.

Consumer income expectations showed a marked improvement in the month before but only reflected a mild improvement in June (rising by 0.8 points to -12.2). GfK notes that:

“The consumer climate is currently stabilising at a low level. Income expectations are recovering only slightly. The willingness to buy remains in the pessimistic range, and the willingness to save is not decreasing either. There are therefore no signs yet of a return toward pre-war levels, even though the peace negotiations and the decrease in crude oil prices are easing consumers’ inflation concerns and economic expectations are brightening slightly again.”

The more detailed breakdown:

This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.