FRANKFURT (Reuters) -The German government has slashed its growth projection for 2025 to 0.3%, down from 1.1% previously, newspaper Handelsblatt cited government sources as saying on Friday, as the economy shows little sign of recovering from two years of contraction.
The economy ministry declined to comment.
Last year, Germany’s economy shrank for the second consecutive year, burdened by competition from abroad, high energy costs, still elevated interest rates and uncertain business prospects.
The German economy, Europe’s largest, shrank by 0.2% over the full year, official statistics showed last week.
Disagreements over how to reinvigorate the economy had been a main factor behind the collapse of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s fractious three-party coalition last year.
The economy is polled as the top concern of German voters ahead of national elections on Feb. 23.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger and Maria Martinez Editing by Miranda Murray and Rachel More)
