The GFK's Consumer Climate reading for Germany improved slightly from a reading of 8.3 in January to 8.5 in February. (Gfk Germany Consumer Climate: click to see full view)This reading has been improving consistently, and is almost at the 8.7 high in July 2007, before the financial crash. A couple of key points from the report:" However, in order to establish a slightly broader basis for this upswing, making it more sustainable, it will be necessary to restart the investment engine, which has been sluggish until now... "It is not just consumers who have this positive outlook, with both experts and the government also appearing more confident."