German consumers are growing more confident in the strength of the economy’s rebound with the latest index signaling better sentiment in the coming month, according to The Wall Street Journal. On Tuesday, GfK reported that the forward-looking consumer-climate index for Germany rose to 6.0 in March from 5.8 the month before, marking the highest level since October 2007 and outpacing economists’ forecast for a reading unchanged from February.
The strong consumer figure comes on the heels of a report from Ifo that found business sentiment was at an all time high in February. Economists are upbeat that improved consumer sentiment could drive eurozone economic growth, which has been dampenedby high unemployment and the ongoing sovereign debt crisis. The income expectations sub-index was up over 5 points to 42.9 in February, while the economic expectations index crept lower, falling to 57.1 from 58.8 in January.