BERLIN, May 23 (Reuters) - Germany's long-awaited economic recovery is not materializing and the euro zone's largest economy will only stagnate this year, the German chambers of commerce and industry DIHK said on Thursday.
Nevertheless, the forecast was more optimistic than at the start of the year, when the DIHK expected a 0.5% contraction.
The DIHK expects private consumption to support the economy this year, growing by 1.0%, as inflation eases to 2.3% from 5.9% in 2023.
The DIHK survey, conducted among 24,000 companies from all sectors and regions, shows that the hope of recent months that good foreign business or a recovery in domestic demand could act as a driver for domestic companies has not materialized.
"The current situation of companies is poor, and even bad in industry," said DIHK Managing Director Martin Wansleben at the presentation of the survey. "Expectations do not show a strong upward trend."
Of the companies surveyed, 28% reported a good current situation in the spring, while 23% reported a bad one.
However, business expectations are brightening. Only 26% of companies now have negative expectations, down from 35% in the previous survey.
The DIHK sentiment index currently shows a below-average value of 97.2. "That's a little better than at the beginning of the year. But there are still more pessimists than optimists," said Wansleben.
(Reporting by Maria Martinez, Editing by Rachel More)
