German consumer sentiment continued its upward trend in January as a propensity to buy improved significantly and economic expectations remained high, market research group Gfk said on Tuesday.

After a revised 5.5 points in January, the overall indicator is forecasting a figure of 5.7 points in February 2011, Gfk's Consumer Climate MAXX survey said.

The survey said the improving employment scene has been responsible for economic expectations remaining at a high level at the start of this year.

German consumers are remaining decidedly optimistic with regard to economic performance in the early part of the year, with economic expectations unchanged compared with the previous month at 58.8 points, according to the report.

Though income expectations declined slightly for the second month in succession in January, the downturn was comparatively modest at just 2.6 points. The report said consumers continued to harbor high expectations with regard to their future income development.

Consumers' inclination to buy more than offset the decline recorded in the previous month. After rising 8 points to 41.8 points, the indicator is now at its highest level since December 2006.

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