The GfK consumer confidence survey for Germany rose to a 16-month high in October, with the index advancing to 4.3 from a revised reading of 3.8 in the previous month, and the data encourages an improved outlook for the region as the economy emerges from the worst recession since the post-war period. However, as the Bundesbank anticipates economic activity to remain subdued going into the following year and projects unemployment to rise, fears of a protracted recovery may weigh on households as President Axel Weber holds a cautious outlook for Europe’s largest economy.
