(ANSA-AFP) - BERLIN, APR 15 - German economic growth will be
weaker than expected in 2021, leading research institutes said
Thursday, as ongoing coronavirus restrictions continue to slow a
recovery by Europe's largest economy. Germany's gross domestic
product will expand by only 3.7 percent this year, five economic
think-tanks including Ifo, DIW and RWI said in their annual
spring report, revising down more optimistic predictions made in
the autumn by one percentage point. "As a result of the ongoing
shutdown, economic performance is expected to drop by 1.8
percent in the first quarter," said Torsten Schmidt of RWI. Yet
researchers predicted that the economy would bounce back and
unemployment figures would decrease as lockdowns were eased and
more people were vaccinated in the middle of the second quarter.
"We expect a significant expansion of economic activity in the
summer, especially in the hard-hit service sectors," said
Schmidt. The spring forecast also predicted growth of 3.9
percent in 2022, and said the state deficit as a percentage of
gross domestic product would also shrink next year. (ANSA-AFP).
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