Germany's government said Wednesday that it expects the country's economy to shrink by 0.4% this year, joining a string of other forecasters in revising sharply downward its outlook for Europe's biggest economy.
The revised forecast contrasted with the 0.4% growth that the government predicted in late April. The Economy Ministry said in a statement that “the effects of the energy price crisis in combination with global economic weakness are weighing down the German economy more persistently than was assumed in the spring.”
