Germany's consumer confidence is set to ease slightly in March, as a modest gain in economic expectations were offset by moderate losses in income outlook and the propensity to buy, results of a monthly survey by the market research firm GfK showed on Thursday.
The forward-looking GfK consumer confidence index fell to 9.8 points for March from 9.9 in February. That was in line with economists' expectations.
"The spread of the coronavirus has undoubtedly contributed to uncertainty among consumers," Rolf Bürkl, consumer expert at GfK, said.
"A decline or halt in production in companies in China triggered by the virus could affect production in Germany as well, or even cause it to come to a complete standstill. This could result in reduced working hours and possibly reductions in staff."
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