Germany Finance Ministry: Industrial output to plunge in March

In its monthly report, Germany’s Finance Ministry highlighted the fears of a plunge in the industrial output. The report also cited risks that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will hit services, retail sector hard.

Key quotes

German industrial output to plunge in March.

Pandemic to hit Germany’s retail, services sector especially hard, the industry also impacted.

Pandemic is pushing up job uncertainty which is impacting consumers’ propensity to buy, income expectations.

The consumer climate has also dropped noticeably.

The growing uncertainty about future employment is clouding consumers' propensity to buy and income expectations.

FX implications

Following then news, EUR/USD renews downside, declining from 1.0870 to 1.0862, currently around 1.0865. However, the risk-tone remains surprisingly positive with the S&P 500 Futures deviating from Wall Street close and marking 0.22% gains to 2,817 by the press time.