German consumer confidence soars to 13-year high

German consumer sentiment surged to its highest level in more than 13 years heading into February, a survey showed yesterday, as lower oil prices meant shoppers in Europe’s largest economy had more spare cash.

GfK market research group said its consumer sentiment indicator, based on a survey of 2,000 Germans, rose to 9.3 from 9.0 in January. That was the highest reading since November 2001.

“German consumers have evidently also been affected by the major collapse in energy prices over the past few weeks,” said GfK analyst Rolf Buerkl.