By Maria Martinez

German consumer sentiment is set to brighten in June, due to a decline in coronavirus infections and advances in vaccinations, market-research group GfK said Thursday.

GfK's forward-looking consumer sentiment index is set to increase to minus 7.0 in June from minus 8.6 points in May. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected consumer sentiment to rise to minus 5.0 points.

GfK uses data from three subindexes from the current month to derive a sentiment figure for the coming month, measuring economic expectations, income expectations and propensity to buy.

In May, economic and income expectations rose strongly, while propensity to buy declined following three consecutive increases.

The indicator of economic expectations jumped to 41.1 in May from 7.3 points in April. This was its highest value in more than three years.

Income expectations also contributed significantly to the increase in consumer confidence, rising to 19.5 in May from 9.3 in April.

However, propensity to buy fell to 10.0 in May from 17.3 in April, as many activities in the services sector remain restricted, GfK said.

Write to Maria Martinez at maria.martinez@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-27-21 0214ET