German Economy to Shrink 0.6% in 2023 Before Wages Drive Rebound

  • Purchasing power to fuel 1.3% growth next year, institutes say
  • Inflation expected to slow to 2.6% in 2024, 1.9% in 2025

Empty tables at a restaurant in Hackescher Market in Berlin.

Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
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Germany’s economy is on course for its first full year of contraction since the pandemic, new forecasts showed, though rebounding consumption should spur a recovery in 2024.

Output will drop by 0.6% in 2023, according to projections by five institutes that advise the government. That’s a gloomier outlook than those of both the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission. Next year will bring growth of 1.3%, helped by rising wages, lower energy prices and easing supply bottlenecks.