October Blip Leaves German Consumer Confidence High

Germans will be slightly less confident about future income and less keen on splashing out in October, a survey predicted Thursday, even as belief in the country's economic strength remains high.

Consumer confidence fell 0.1 points to 10.8, as measured by pollsters GfK's forward-looking survey of around 2,000 people.

"Germans see the economy on a solid course for growth into autumn," the firm commented.

Unemployment remains at record lows and economic growth has beaten analysts' expectations so far this year, while surveys of business leaders and investors are all in the green.

People's expectations for growth in their own income fell back slightly this month.

But wage expectations "remain at a very high level," GfK noted, with people "assuming that they'll clock up significant growth in income in the future."

There was a similar picture in the sub-index measuring the public's interest in large purchases, with the barometer unclouded by a slight fall.

Overall, "consumers' mood remains in excellent shape," the pollsters said, predicting that domestic demand will continue to power growth in the German economy.

Greater risks come from abroad, where seemingly stalled Brexit talks, nuclear tensions between the United States and North Korea and Washington's newfound love of protectionism could threaten Europe's powerhouse, they noted.