German economy to shrink by 6.6 per cent this year

Berlin, April 28, 2020, SPA

The German economy is expected to contract by 6.6 per cent this year, according to a study in which experts warned that a return to normal was not expected before the end of 2021, dpa reported.
“In total, economic output this year is to shrink by 6.6 per cent in calendar-adjusted terms; when taking the relatively high number of working days into account, the decline is reduced to 6.2 per cent,” said Timo Wollmershaeuser, head of forecasts at the Ifo research institute, which conducted the study.
Gross domestic product in Europe’s largest economy was expected to decline by 1.9 per cent in the first quarter, followed by 12.2 per cent in the second, as sweeping closures and restrictions aimed at curbing the coronavirus pandemic take their toll.
“We will not be back to pre-coronavirus levels until late 2021,” Wollmershaeuser predicted, citing the results of a survey of around 8,800 companies.