DIHK significantly lowers economic forecast for 2022

2022-02-11T10:47:36.008Z

DIHK significantly lowers economic forecast for 2022 Created: 02/11/2022 11:36 am Construction cranes of a large construction site stand in the sunrise. The Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce has lowered its growth forecast for 2022. © Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa The companies are currently experiencing many problems and the prospects are clouding over. The DIHK describes it

DIHK significantly lowers economic forecast for 2022

Created: 02/11/2022 11:36 am

Construction cranes of a large construction site stand in the sunrise.

The Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce has lowered its growth forecast for 2022.

The companies are currently experiencing many problems and the prospects are clouding over.

The DIHK describes it like this: The economy is holding its breath.

Berlin - High energy and raw material prices as well as delivery bottlenecks are slowing down the German economy's catching-up process.

Against this background, the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) is lowering its growth forecast for this year.

Growth in gross domestic product of 3.0 percent is now expected, after 3.6 percent previously.

"The economy is holding its breath," said DIHK General Manager Martin Wansleben on Friday in Berlin.

A cautiously optimistic mood still prevails in the companies.

"However, many do not know how to proceed due to great uncertainty."

In addition to the corona crisis and delivery bottlenecks, he named the sharp rise in energy and raw material prices and the shortage of skilled workers as the greatest stress factors.

In addition, there would be further cost increases to be expected as a result of the transformation in climate protection.

Many companies feared that their position on the world markets would deteriorate.

According to Wansleben, the lower expectations also have something to do with the fact that the fourth quarter of 2021 was weaker than expected.

According to the DIHK, the pre-crisis level of economic output after the slump in 2020 will probably not be reached until the middle of the year.

The federal government expects gross domestic product to grow by 3.6 percent in 2022.

The economy assesses both its current situation and the outlook for 2022 as a whole more negatively than before the turn of the year, according to a DIHK business survey at the beginning of the year among almost 28,000 companies.

Just under a quarter of the companies expect better business in the next twelve months

In the economic sectors particularly affected by the Corona crisis, such as hospitality and retail, the situation of companies has deteriorated significantly over the turn of the year.

Wansleben spoke of the "cellar children of the economy".

He made it clear that it was important to extend state aid.

In view of the drastically increased energy prices, there must be relief.

Wansleben called for the rapid abolition of the EEG surcharge and a reduction in electricity tax.

There is also fear among companies about security of supply.

Companies prefer to wait with investments

According to the survey, almost two-thirds of companies classify energy and raw material prices as one of their greatest business risks, and in industry the figure is even 85 percent.

Nine out of ten companies reported higher purchase prices as a result of supply bottlenecks.

Only ten percent of the companies and thus significantly fewer than in autumn 2021 expected the delivery problems to end by the middle of the year.