BERLIN, May 15 (Reuters) - The German Council of Economic Experts cut on Wednesday its forecasts for economic growth this year, postponing the expected recovery of the euro zone's largest economy.
The panel expects 0.2% gross domestic product growth this year, cutting its autumn forecast of 0.7% growth, their forecast showed on Wednesday, as reported by Reuters on Tuesday.
The German economy is expected to gain some momentum over the course of the year, with inflation expected to fall and nominal wages forecast to rise.
For 2025, the economic experts forecast 0.9% growth, the report showed.
The German economy shrank by 0.2% last year, the weakest performance among big euro zone economies, as high energy costs, lacklustre global orders and record high interest rates took their toll.
At the start of this year, Germany skirted a recession, growing by 0.2% in the first quarter from the previous three-month period in adjusted terms. In the last quarter of 2023, the economy shrank 0.5%.
The economic experts are somewhat less optimistic for 2024 than the German government, which expects 0.3% GDP growth this year and 1.0% in 2025.
The European Commission also published on Wednesday its spring forecasts. The German economy is seen growing by only 0.1% in 2024, well below the euro zone average of 0.8%.
For 2025, the commission forecasts 1.0% growth in Germany. (Reporting by Maria Martinez, Editing by Rachel More)
