Data published by GfK Group showed that economic expectations, income expectations, as well as propensity to buy increased compared to December. Meanwhile, consumer expectations for February remained almost unchanged - the index rose to -6.7 points from -6.9 points in January (revised from -6.8 points). Economists had expected the index to fall to -7.8 points.
"Despite the increase in the incidence of coronavirus and high inflation in the country, there is an improvement in consumer optimism. Consumers expect some reduction in inflation against the background of the underlying effect. Nevertheless, consumer inflation expectations remain significantly higher than in recent years," said Rolf Bürkl, an expert at GfK.
The data also showed that in January, the consumer sentiment indicator rose by 5.7 points to 22.8 points. Compared to the same period in 2021, the index increased by more than 21 points. The income expectations index also rose in January - by 10 points, to 16.9 points. Over the past 12 months, the index has decreased by 19.8 points. This means that the outlook on income is defying the recent steep rise in prices. Apparently, many consumers expect a decrease in inflation this year. Meanwhile, the purchasing propensity index also rose in January - by 4.4 points, to 5.2 points.