BERLIN, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Consumer sentiment in Germany has continued its "steep descent" and dropped to a new record low, according to a monthly study published by the market research institute GfK on Friday.
In the study, based on interviews of around 2,000 German consumers, the forward-looking index for September decreases by 5.6 points to minus 36.5 points.
"The fear of significantly higher energy costs in the coming months is forcing many households to take precautions and put money aside for future energy bills," said Rolf Buerkl, GfK consumer expert.
As a result, the indicator for propensity to save has soared by 17.6 points to 3.5 points, the highest value in more than 11 years. This development "severely impacts" consumer sentiment, GfK said.
Inflation in Germany peaked at 7.9 percent in May, the highest level since the first oil crisis in 1973. Consumer prices have since slowed, reaching 7.5 percent in July, according to official data. On the other hand, prices for energy products were up 35.5 percent year-on-year.
GfK warned that the situation could worsen in the coming months. If the supply of fuel, particularly gas, is insufficient during the cold season, further price rises will drive up heating bills.
In order to prepare for this, Germany has already set up relief packages amounting to 30 billion euros (30 billion U.S. dollars). Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also promised further state support in the coming weeks. "We're not going to leave citizens alone," he said on Thursday. (1 euro = 1 U.S. dollar)
