BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Germany's economy is set to expand this year on the back of export growth, but the biggest euro area economy will reach pre-crisis level only in the first half of next year, Federation of German Industries/BDI said Tuesday.
The industry body predicted 3.5 percent growth for the German economy this year. GDP shrunk around 5 percent in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns hurt economic activity severely.
Exports are expected to grow 6 percent after an 11 percent slump last year.
'A return to the pre-crisis level will therefore not be achieved in the current year,' BDI President Siegfried Russwurm said.
'But there should be a good chance that it will succeed in the first half of 2022.'
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX