German economy to shrink some 1.5% in early 2021: DIW

Reuters

Published Feb 24, 2021 05:08AM ET

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's economy could shrink by around 1.5% in the beginning of the year, the DIW research institute said on Wednesday, as lockdown measures to restrict coronavirus infections take a toll on Europe's biggest economy.

DIW said a surge in coronavirus cases was constraining economic growth but that the pandemic's impact was less severe than in last spring when production facilities came to a standstill.

"Above all, industry has come through the winter robustly so far," said DIW forecaster Claus Michelsen.