BERLIN (Reuters) – The head of Germany’s panel of economic advisors expects Europe’s biggest economy to shrink by at least 5.5% this year due to the coronavirus crisis compared with a previous forecast for a 2.8% contraction, Die Zeit weekly reported on Wednesday.
“We cannot stick to this estimate. I rather expect a decline of 5.5% – and that is optimistic,” Lars Feld was quoted by the newspaper as saying, adding the original prediction, from March, was based on a shutdown of five weeks and three week ramp-up.
(Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Michelle Martin)
