The second lockdown hit the German economy hard again and shows how shaky the upswing is.
Wiesbaden - The renewed
lockdown
slowed the recovery of the German economy at the end of last year.
The
gross domestic product
(
GDP
) was in the fourth quarter of 2020 with a minus of 0.1 percent wafer-thinly above the previous quarter, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Friday.
According to the preliminary data, private consumption was particularly hard hit, while goods exports and construction investments supported the economy.
In comparison to the previous year, economic output shrank by 2.9 percent after adjustment for price.
Economy: The setback in 2020 will be a little less than feared
For the year as a whole, the Wiesbaden authority confirmed a decline in
GDP
of 5.0 percent.
The only major slump was during the global
financial crisis in
2009, when economic output fell by 5.7 percent.
In March and April 2020, parts of the German economy almost came to a standstill due to the pandemic.
Many observers had therefore expected that economic output could collapse even more sharply in 2020 than in 2009. However, the economic recovery in summer turned out to be stronger than hoped.
Economy: Economists are becoming more cautious
Quite a few economists, Europe's largest economy, are
predicting
a
recovery
this year after the deep recession in 2020
.
However, given the lockdown that was extended until mid-February, the economy is likely to grow less strongly than initially hoped.
The
federal government
recently significantly lowered
its
economic
forecast and is now expecting economic growth of 3.0 percent this year.
In his autumn
forecast
presented at the end of October, Economics Minister
Peter Altmaier
(
CDU
) had expected an increase of 4.4 percent.
In view of the high number of infections, the federal and state governments decided to take drastic measures from November, such as the closure of restaurants and leisure facilities.
The lockdown was tightened in mid-December and last extended until mid-February.
The lockdown caused a significant slowdown in economic momentum, according to the federal government's annual economic report.
It can be assumed that economic performance will still be significantly affected by the pandemic in the first quarter of 2021.
Economy: mood in companies is clouding over
The mood in companies in Germany deteriorated significantly at the beginning of the year.
In January the
Ifo business climate
, Germany's most important economic indicator, fell by 2.1 points to 90.1 points compared to the month.
In addition, the consumer mood collapsed, as the latest consumer climate study by
GfK
for February shows.
"The closure of restaurants and large parts of the retail trade in mid-December 2020 hit the propensity to consume as hard as it did during the first lockdown in the spring of last year," explained GfK expert
Rolf Bürkl
.
At that time the consumer climate had sunk to a low point.
Private consumption is an important pillar of the German economy.
(
dpa / red
)