BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s economy could shrink by around 1.5% in the beginning of the year, the DIW research institute said on Wednesday, as lockdown measures to restrict coronavirus infections take a toll on Europe’s biggest economy.
DIW said a surge in coronavirus cases was constraining economic growth but that the pandemic’s impact was less severe than in last spring when production facilities came to a standstill.
“Above all, industry has come through the winter robustly so far,” said DIW forecaster Claus Michelsen.
Strong exports and solid construction activity helped the German economy to grow by a better-than-expected 0.3% in the final quarter of last year, but stricter lockdown measures at home and abroad are clouding the outlook for Europe’s largest economy.
(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa, editing by Thomas Escritt)
