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Coronavirus hits German services, job fears dent consumption: finance ministry – Metro US

Coronavirus hits German services, job fears dent consumption: finance ministry

People walk in the main shopping street as shops are
People walk in the main shopping street as shops are closed during the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Cologne

BERLIN (Reuters) – Measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic are hitting Germany’s services and the retail sector especially hard, the finance ministry said on Tuesday, adding that factory closures were also pushing down industrial production.

“The consumer climate has also dropped noticeably,” the finance ministry said in its monthly report. “The growing uncertainty about future employment is clouding consumers’ propensity to buy and income expectations.”

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Joseph Nasr)