German consumer confidence plunges

FRANKFURT

The mood of consumers in Germany has darkened significantly as the Russian invasion of Ukraine dimmed the outlook for Europe’s largest economy, according to a key survey published yesterday.

Pollster GfK’s forward-looking barometer fell to minus 15.5 percent for April from a revised minus 8.5 percent in March.

Hopes that the lifting of coronavirus-related health restrictions would propel an economic recovery had “evaporated” with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, GfK consumer expert Rolf Buerkl said.

The conflict has given a new push to already high inflation, sending the cost of oil and gas rocketing amid fears that supplies from Russia could be severely curtailed.

The GfK survey of some 2,000 people found that Germans were significantly more pessimistic about the state of the economy, with the indicator falling 33 points to minus 8.9 in March, having risen in the last two months.

The impact of sanctions, high energy costs, and supply chains broken by the outbreak of the war means “the risk of a recession has risen sharply,” the pollster said.