BERLIN (Reuters) – The business climate in both the services and manufacturing sectors in Germany has improved significantly, Ifo economist Klaus Wohlrabe said on Friday, with manufacturing “exploding” due to strong demand from China and the United States.
Even in retail, among the sectors most severely hit by a lockdown, now in its fourth month, imposed to try to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, there had been a clear upswing, he added.
Europe’s largest economy was likely to shrink by 0.7% in the first quarter, he said.
(Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Paul Carrel)
