Worries about Greece's debt crisis dented German consumer sentiment going into August, a survey showed today, although it was conducted before euro zone leaders reached agreement on the matter last week.

The forward-looking index of consumer morale by market research group GfK fell for a second month in a row going into August, dipping to 5.4 after a downwardly revised 5.5 in the prior month. July's reading had been originally reported as 5.7.

"The continuing discussions over the correct solution to Greece's debt crisis and the accompanying dangers for the common European currency has unsettled German consumers," GfK said in a statement.

GfK said the survey had been conducted between July 1st and July 15th, before euro zone leaders reached agreement on how to handle a second bailout for Greece at a summit on July 21st.

Nevertheless, the weaker-than-expected reading was the lowest posted since that for November 2010, adding to evidence that a growth surge in Europe's largest economy is losing momentum.

The closely watched German business sentiment survey by the Ifo think tank deteriorated to a nine-month low in July, data showed last week, raising concerns Europe's largest economy may not be able to pull the region out of the doldrums next year.

Germany has been the star performer in the industrialised world since the end of the financial crisis, but economists are split on whether it is headed for a sharp slowdown or just a moderate easing from unsustainably strong growth in the first part of 2011.

Germany's economy grew by 1.5 per cent in the first three months of the year, but economists expect this to slow to a quarterly average of 0.5 per cent for the rest of the year, still a strong rate of expansion by German standards.