As of: February 28, 2024, 4:17 p.m
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The port of Hamburg in the fog: According to analyzes by the DIW Institute, the German economy was still in recession at the beginning of the year.
© Jonas Walzberg / dpa
The German economy is in the doldrums.
The war in Ukraine and its consequences for the global economy continue to affect companies in this country.
Berlin – According to the DIW Institute, the German economy will probably continue to shrink at the beginning of the new year.
The DIW economic barometer, which fell significantly in February, signals that the gross domestic product will also fall slightly in the current quarter from January to March compared to the previous quarter, the Berlin researchers and government advisors announced on Wednesday.
“The German economy is finding it difficult to find a way out of the economic slump”
“The German economy is having a hard time finding a way out of the economic slump,” said Timm Bönke, co-head of forecasting and economic policy at DIW Berlin.
“It continues to struggle with the consequences of the Russian attack on Ukraine, higher interest rates, unclear economic policy conditions and the only moderate growth in the global economy.”
The German gross domestic product shrank by 0.3 percent at the end of 2023 and for the year as a whole and is on the verge of recession.
Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck recently massively lowered the government's growth forecast for 2024 from 1.3 to 0.2 percent.
Germany “no longer an economic driving force” in Europe
According to DIW, the manufacturing sector in particular is still waiting for the upswing.
“The high energy prices and the subdued global economy continue to weigh on German industry,” said DIW economic expert Laura Pagenhardt.
Added to this is the political uncertainty, which is increasingly raising doubts about the competitiveness of the location and dampening enthusiasm for investment.
“Since the energy price crisis, Germany is no longer the economic driving force for Europe,” said the DIW.
(
Reuters, lf)