German consumer confidence has fallen slightly over the course of March, pulled down by global uncertainties affecting business and buyers, the consumer group GfK reported on Tuesday.
The GfK’s monthly confidence index is projected at 10.4 points for April, down 0.3 points from its last monthly forecast and marking the first decline in the indicator this year.
The drop was led by worsening income expectations and buying power. On the positive side, Germans' expectations for the economy have improved for the first time in five months.
In a statement, GfK said it still expects consumers to be “an important pillar of economic development in Germany this year too. However, this is reliant on the assumption that the uncertainty caused by Brexit and the trade conflict does not increase further.”
The decline comes one day after a key measure of German business confidence from the Ifo Institute rose for the first time in six months.
The GfK consumer climate report is based on monthly surveys with 2,000 people in Germany.
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