Germany is facing a recession: Ifo economist

Tuesday, 27 August 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

BERLIN (Reuters): Germany is facing a recession, an economist at Germany’s Ifo economic institute said on Monday, as the institute’s business climate index fell to its lowest level since August 2012.

“There will be a stagnation in the third quarter at best,” Klaus Wohlrabe said, adding that this would also apply for final gross domestic product (GDP) figures for the second quarter, which Germany’s statistics office is due to release on Tuesday.

“We are facing a recession,” he told Reuters.

Wohlrabe added that although the business climate improved in Germany’s struggling auto industry, it significantly deteriorated in the engineering, chemicals and electrics sectors.