The German economy is approaching stagnation in the first quarter due to the coronavirus outbreak, the German Economic Institute (DIW) said today, adding that German industry will be hit especially if the virus continues to spread around the world.
The institute said that Germany's GDP in the first quarter would grow by only 0.1% compared to the previous quarter.
"So far, the impact of the virus has not been clear and cannot be quantifiable," the institute's economic director said in a statement, adding that German industry would be particularly affected if the global outbreak disrupted supplies of wholesale products from China.