German consumer sentiment darkens unexpectedly heading into March, survey finds

BERLIN, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Consumer sentiment ‌in Germany is ​set ​to worsen unexpectedly in March, with households showing significantly less willingness to spend amid geopolitical tensions and concerns about government social policies, a ‌survey showed on Wednesday.

The consumer sentiment index, published by the GfK market ⁠research institute and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM), fell to -24.7 points for March from a ‌revised -24.2 points the month before, contrary ‌to analysts' expectations of a rise to -23.1.

Overall sentiment was pulled down by a decline in consumers' willingness to buy, at -9.3 points in February from -4.0 in January. ​A 1.0-point increase in the readiness to save also contributed.

"Even though the economy appears to be recovering slightly, consumers remain skeptical," said Rolf Buerkl, head of ⁠consumer climate at NIM.

"Geopolitical tensions, but also challenges in social policy, are likely to keep uncertainty and thus also ​the willingness to save high," he added.

Consumers' economic expectations for the next 12 months fell more than 2 points month on month, ​to 4.3 points, but were still roughly 3 ‌points higher than last year's level.

Europe's biggest economy is struggling to gain traction as geopolitical uncertainty, high operating costs and weak ⁠domestic demand weigh on companies, with growth in 2026 expected to be driven largely by statistical and calendar effects.

MAR FEB FEB

2026 2026 2025

Consumer climate -24.7 -22.6

-24.2

Consumer climate components

FEB JAN FEB

2026 2026 2025

- economic expectations 4.3 6.6 1.2

- income expectations 6.3 5.1 -5.4

- willingness to buy -9.3 -4.0 -11.1

- willingness to ⁠save 18.9 17.9 9.4

The survey period was from January 29 to February 9, 2026.

An indicator reading above zero signals ​year-on-year growth in private consumption. A value below zero indicates a drop compared with the same period a year earlier.

According to GfK, a one-point change in the indicator corresponds to a year-on-year ‌change of 0.1% in private consumption.

The "willingness to buy" indicator represents the balance between positive and negative responses to the question: "Do you ‌think now is a good time to buy major items?"

The income expectations sub-index reflects expectations ⁠about the development of household finances ‌in the coming 12 ​months.

The economic expectations index reflects respondents' assessment of the general economic situation over the next 12 months.

($1 = 0.8618 euros)

(Reporting by Friederike HeineEditing by ‌Madeline Chambers)

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