The German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) has revised down its forecast for German GDP for the current year, and now expects the economy to shrink by 0.2% (previous forecast: 0%). As for next year, DIHK predicts that GDP will remain unchanged.
"We are witnessing not just a cyclical, but also a protracted structural crisis in Germany. Business expectations for the coming months in the economy as a whole also do not give reason for optimism," DIHK said.
The results of the DIHK survey conducted among 25,000 companies from all sectors and regions showed that 31% of respondents expect the business situation to worsen, which is 5% higher than in the previous survey. Meanwhile, only 13% of respondents reported that they expect the business situation to improve. DIHK also stated that 26% of respondents reported a good current situation (-2% compared to the last survey) and 25% reported a bad one (+2% compared to the last survey).
"The last time we faced a similar situation was 20 years ago during a serious crisis in 2002 and 2003. This is a clear alarm signal," the DIHK warned, calling for "deep reforms."