German consumer sentiment dips after Brexit, but still strong, GfK says

German consumer sentiment dipped in September, as a gauge of expectations for the country´s economy slipped for a third consecutive month.

GfK´s consumer sentiment index was forecast to slip from a reading of 10.2 in September to 10.0 in October, the survey compiler said (consensus: 10.1).

Subindices tracking consumers´ incomes and willingness-to-buy also fell back, but remained at elevated levels.

"It looks as if the Brexit decision from June has now started to have an impact. In the three months since the referendum, economic expectations have continuously fallen. The announcement that Great Britain will leave the EU has caused uncertainty to rise. This has also led to the Ifo Business Climate Index falling in July and August," GfK said.

According to GfK, Wednesday´s survey results showed the German consumer was not completely immune to the rise in uncertainty resulting from the terror attacks in Germany and Brexit.

A gauge tracking Germans´ economic expectations slipped by 1.8 points to 6.8 but remained abive its long-term average level of zero.

In parallel, a sub-index tracking income expectations fell back by 5.7 points, in the process surrendering most of the previous month´s gains, to 52.6, but remained at above 50.0 remained "strong".

The other key sub-index, referencing Germans´ propensity-to-buy slipped four points to 53.3, but also remained above the 50.0 point mark.