Germany’s Economy Contracted by 1.8% in Q1 of 2021 Due to COVID-19 Restrictions

Prominent economic institutes said that the German economy may shrink 1.8% on a quarterly basis in the first three months of this year due to the restrictions of Covid-19, a revision of their joint forecast of growth in Europe’s largest economy.

Institutes now expect GDP growth of 3.7% this year, down from their previous forecast of 4.7%. But the institutes revised by raising their forecast for 2022 GDP to 3.9% from 2.7%, expecting household spending to rise once the restrictions of the Coronavirus are lifted again.