Survey: German Consumer Confidence Rises

Consumer confidence in Germany is rising again, buoyed by the European Central Bank's recent decision to cut interest rates, a new poll found on Wednesday.

"The additional cut in interest rates by the ECB and the decision to charge banks for parking their money at the central bank has given the consumer climate an extra boost and is the main reason behind the rise in consumer confidence," market research company GfK said in a statement.

Earlier this month, the ECB rolled out an unprecedented package of measures, including negative interest rates and targeted measures to kickstart lending to businesses. 

"These monetary policy decisions have hit Germans' propensity to save. And the increase in their willingness to spend money is also partly attributable to the ECB moves," GfK said. 

Looking ahead to next month, GfK's headline household confidence index was forecast to rise to 8.9 points in July from 8.6 points in June. 

For the past four months, the index has stagnated.

This reading is based on responses from about 2,000 households regarding their expectations about pay and the economy as a whole in the coming months, as well as their willingness to spend money.

Sentiment in Europe's top economy is currently positive, but appears to be stalling amid uncertainty about possible fallout from the crises in Ukraine and Iraq. 

Earlier this week, the Ifo business climate survey fell more than expected.