Economics
Germany Cushions Pandemic Blow by Weaning Itself Off Exports
- Government revises up 2020 forecast on domestic demand
- Germany is ‘decoupling’ from the global economy, Altmaier says
A worker wipes a table at a cafe in Berlin on Aug. 24.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Germany expects the blow from the coronavirus crisis to be less severe than feared, as the country reduces its traditional reliance on exports.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s administration forecast that national output will shrink by 5.8% this year. While that still marks one of the worst recessions since the end of World War II, it’s smaller contraction than an April prediction of 6.3%, as efforts to shore up domestic demand bear fruit.