Lingering Greece jitters weigh on German consumer morale

German consumers' outlook for Europe's biggest economy declined sharply in July due to fears the Greek crisis will rumble on in the coming months, a poll found on Wednesday.

"The long and difficult struggle to resolve the debt crisis in Greece has kept the country from default for now," market research company GfK said in a statement.

"However, this has not allowed German consumers' expectations to take flight but rather led the indicator to fall for the second time in a row," it said based on its monthly survey.

GfK found that Germans expect economic growth to continue in the coming months but not with the same strength anticipated just weeks ago.

"Citizens apparently assume that the hard-fought agreement in the debt crisis with Greece will have a negative impact on the German economy," it said in a statement.

Gfk added that conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East were also clouding the horizon.

The findings indicated that German consumers were less optimistic about the economy than companies, after a survey of business confidence published Monday by the Ifo economic institute showed a slight increase in July.

At the same time, average Germans were particularly upbeat about their own earnings prospects, reaching the highest level measured since national reunification in 1990 on the back of a strong labour market and advantageous sector-wide wage accords.