German consumer climate suffering "heavily" from coronavirus: study

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BERLIN, March 26 (Xinhua) -- German consumer climate suffered "heavily" as a result of the spread of the coronavirus, according to the monthly consumer climate study published by the German market research institute GfK on Thursday.

The GfK forecast for April dropped to 2.7 points, the lowest level since the global financial crisis in 2009, and was 5.6 points lower than the result for March.

The "significant increase" in the number of infections in Germany and the restrictions on public life had caused the consumer climate to collapse, according to GfK.

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Germany increased by 4,954 within one day to 36,508, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Thursday.

"In light of the current development, we are withdrawing our consumer forecast of one percent growth for 2020. Retailers, manufacturers and service providers must prepare for a recession," said Rolf Buerkl, a GfK consumer expert.

GfK stressed that the German economy had already come to a "complete halt in a very short space of time," with production being shut down and businesses and gastronomy establishments closed.

The threat of significantly reduced hours and an increase in unemployment figures would now be "hammering away at consumer sentiment," while worries over job losses had increased "significantly" in just a short space of time, GfK noted.

The GfK indicator for income expectations lost 13.4 points and fell to the lowest level in seven years. The "increasing uncertainty" regarding the "ever more unstable employment situation," combined with an increase in unemployment figures and reduced hours, would be leading to "growing pessimism" with regards to income.

The coronavirus had an "enormous impact on consumer sentiment in Germany," GfK concluded. Enditem

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