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A recovery of the overall German economy has been questioned, based on negative data from Eurostat and Markit. New information from GfK states that Germany has not only recovered from economic doldrums, but that businesses and individuals are downright optimistic. This leaves observers with the uneasiness that has accompanied other releases of information both by governments and the private sector in major countries around the world — which research is right?

GfK reports on the consumer climate in Germany:

German consumers continued to be in an optimistic mood a t the onset of summer. Economic and income expectations increased further, but willingness to buy fell slightly at an extremely high level. Following a value of 6.5 points in June, the over-all indicator is forecasting 6.8 points for July.

And:

In the same way as economic expectations, income expectations also improved. This is the third consecutive increase and the indicator is now at 36.2 points following the 2.3 point rise . Consequently, there is an upward trend in income expectations.