German economy to shrink by double-digit percentage range - DIHK

Germany's DIHK chambers of industry and commerce said on Tuesday it expected Europe's largest economy to shrink by a double-digit percentage range this year due to the coronavirus crisis, a much more pessimistic view than the government's forecast.

"This year, and there is no way around it, we will witness a historic economic downturn," DIHK President Eric Schweitzer said when presenting the association's latest survey among industrial companies.

The DIHK's estimate of an economic plunge in the double-digit percentage range compares with the government's forecast for a record recession of -6.3% in 2020.