German consumer sentiment falls slightly but remain upbeat

German consumers continued to be upbeat about their personal finances, and their willingness to purchase rose to one of the strongest levels in the latest month. But their economic optimism deteriorated, with the relevant index dropping to a seven-month low.

However, the reasons for the softening seem to be factors outside the nation rather than domestic economic challenges – the survey cited rise of tensions in Syria and protectionist U.S. trade policies. In all, this left the headline consumer sentiment indicator inching just slightly lower to 10.8 in May from 10.8. This is still very close to the highest level since 2001 reached in February, implying that consumer confidence is holding up better compared to business confidence. However, German consumer spending has been disappointing in recent quarters, and the latest retail sales data imply no rebound in the first quarter, noted Daiwa Capital Market Research in a report.

At 21:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of Euro was highly bearish at -112.755, while the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was bullish at 94.1146. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex

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