German government doubles 2023 growth forecast to 0.4%
The German government has doubled its growth forecast this year for the Europe’s largest economy after the country made it through the winter without major energy problems
BERLIN (AP) — The German government on Wednesday doubled its growth forecast this year for Europe's largest economy after the country made it through the winter without major energy problems.
It said it now expects gross domestic product to grow by 0.4% — up from the 0.2% expansion it forecast in late January, which in turn was a big improvement on the 0.4% contraction predicted in October. The government expects growth to accelerate to 1.6% next year.
The new government outlook for 2023 is a bit more optimistic than that of a group of four leading German economic research institutes, which earlier this month forecast growth of 0.3%. The International Monetary Fund recently predicted that German GDP will decline by 0.1% this year.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck said the economy has proven to be “adaptable and resilient” in the energy crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia — once Germany's biggest natural gas supplier — halted gas deliveries to the country and largely to the rest of Europe last summer.
