By Emese Bartha

FRANKFURT--German consumer confidence is set to start the new year on a strong note, hitting its highest level in eight years, on hopes economic expansion in Europe's largest economy will accelerate in the coming months, a sentiment survey showed Friday.

The monthly survey by the GfK market research group shows consumer confidence rising to 9.0 points for January from 8.7 points in December. That is above economists" forecast of 8.8 points, according to a Wall Street Journal survey. The last time the survey's reading was higher was in December 2006 when it hit 9.1 points.

"Consumers assume the economic weakness in Germany is only temporary and the domestic economy will return to the growth path in the next few months," GfK said in a statement.

GfK uses survey data from the current month to derive a figure for the month to come.

Consumers' economic expectations and willingness to buy improved in December, as sharply lower energy prices gave households some flexibility in making purchases. Consumers' income expectations worsened, however, which GfK said could be explained by the unstable international situation rather than domestic circumstances.

"By his standards, the German consumer is shopping a lot," said Holger Sandte, chief European analyst at Nordea, adding that domestic demand will remain the main driver of economic growth next year.

Other recent economic indicators also suggest Germany is emerging from a period of weakness. Business confidence improved for the second consecutive month in December, the Munich-based Ifo institute's key indicator showed Thursday.

Write to Emese Bartha at emese.bartha@wsj.com

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