Despite a little gain in confidence coming into June, German consumers were nonetheless concerned about the impact of the Ukraine crisis, according to a major survey released Wednesday.

The forward-looking barometer of pollster GfK increased to minus 26 points in June, up from negative 26.6 the previous month, a new low for the index.

According to GfK consumer analyst Rolf Buerkl, the increase in consumer mood was “marginal.”

“Despite the relaxation of coronavirus-related restrictions, the Ukraine war and inflation, above all, are weighing on the mood of consumers,” Buerkl added.

The start of the war has pushed up the price of oil, food, and raw materials, all of which Ukraine and Russia are major suppliers.

As a result, Germany’s inflation rate hit a multi-year high of 7.4% in April.

In May, the GfK survey of 2,000 respondents revealed that Germans were “moderately” more optimistic about the economy, with the indicator jumping from 7.1 points to minus 9.3 points.

Despite the improvement, the result was nearly 50 points lower than the surveyed value from the same period last year, when German coronavirus restrictions were eased.

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