German economy nears stagnation in first quarter with coronavirus outbreak

The German Institute for Economic Research DIW reported that Germany’s economy is close to stagnation in the first quarter of 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak. According to the organization, the country's GDP will increase by only 0.1% compared with the previous quarter, and the industrial sector of the economy will be mainly hit.

The head of the economic department of the institute, Klaus Michelsen, also noted that the impact of the coronavirus epidemic remains unclear, and the damage cannot be calculated. However, experts are confident that German industry will suffer the most, since an outbreak of the virus will inevitably lead to interruptions in the supply of wholesale products from China.

According to the Federal Statistical Agency of Germany (Destatis), German GDP in the IV quarter of 2019 remained unchanged compared with the previous three months. Over the past year, Europe’s largest economy has grown by only 0.6%, at the lowest rate since the 2013 eurozone debt crisis.