BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th October, 2020) The German cabinet has revised up its forecast for the 2020 national GDP dynamics and now expects it to crash by 5.5 percent, while the previous estimate was a 6.3 percent drop, Economy and Energy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Friday.
Meanwhile, the forecast for 2021 was revised down: The cabinet expects the German GDP to increase by 4.4 percent (5.2 in the previous forecast).
"The German government expects the GDP to decline by 5.5 percent in 2020. In the spring forecast, we assumed it will decline by 6.3 percent," Altmaier said at a briefing, presenting the fall forecast of the cabinet.
The 2021 forecast was revised down due to the continued influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economic activities in Europe, the minister explained.
"This is why we say that we expect moderately positive developments, the 4.4 percent recovery. The recovery depends on the further progress of the pandemic, but I hope that the measures that the government implements to curb the pandemic and support the economy will help us achieve this growth," Altmaier added.
