Germany's consumer confidence is set to weaken more than expected in April, hurt significantly by the concerns over the war in Ukraine, results of a closely-watched survey revealed Tuesday. The forward-looking consumer confidence index dropped to -15.5 from a revised -8.5 in March, the market research growth GfK said. Economists had expected a reading of -14. The survey was conducted from March 3 to 14.
The downward trend in the headline index continued and a sharp increase in the propensity to save in March further reinforced it, the agency added. "In February hopes were still high that consumer sentiment would recover significantly with the foreseeable easing of pandemic-related restrictions," Rolf Burkl, GfK consumer expert, said. "However, the start of the war in Ukraine caused these hopes to vanish into thin air."
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April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.