BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s BDI industry association said on Thursday it expected Europe’s largest economy to grow 3.5% this year, giving a more cautious forecast than the government as it warned that companies could face another year of “stop-and-go” business due to the pandemic.
“The order books are full, but production is not keeping pace with demand. Pandemic restrictions and supply bottlenecks affect large parts of the economy,” BDI President Siegfried Russwurm said.
The BDI forecast is less optimistic than the government’s estimates, published in October, in which Berlin predicted gross domestic product growth to accelerate to 4.1% this year from an estimated 2.6% in 2021.
(Reporting by Michael Nienaber, Editing by Miranda Murray)
