German Consumer Sentiment Set to Improve in June --Gfk

German consumer sentiment is set to improve in June, reflecting expectations of robust economic growth, a monthly survey of ?around 2,000 Germans showed Wednesday.

GfK Institute's forward-looking consumer sentiment index is expected to rise to 10.4 points in June from 10.2 points in May, the ?Nuremberg-based research institute said in its monthly survey. Economists in a Dow Jones Newswires' survey forecast the index to remain steady at 10.2 points.

GfK uses three sub-indexes for the current month to derive a sentiment figure for the next month.

The first subindex measuring economic expectation rose to a two-year high of 34.8 points in May from 30.5 points in April, as German consumers foresee the domestic economy is on a growth path, despite global economic and political risks, GfK said. The optimism does have a real foundation, GfK said, pointing to 0.6% gross domestic product growth in the first quarter of the year compared with the last quarter of the previous year.

The second subindex measuring income expectations increased to 58.5 points in May from 57.5 points in April, ?supported by improving economic forecasts, ?GfK said.

The third subindex measuring the propensity to buy, which denotes consumers' willingness to spend on big-ticket items, declined to 55.7 points from 60.2 points?, albeit it still remained at a historically high level, GfK said.

Gfk said while real private consumption is seen rising by about 1.5% this year, potential economic and political risks from increasingly protectionist trends in the U.S. could lead to job concerns among employees.

Write to Emese Bartha at emese.bartha@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 24, 2017 02:14 ET (06:14 GMT)