Bundesbank: energy crisis over, German economy ready for recovery

Head of the Central Bank of Germany Joachim Nagel on the air of the TV channel CNBC said that the energy crisis in the largest economy in the eurozone has been overcome and the German economy has an “internal margin of safety” to recover from the double shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the military conflict in Ukraine. According to IMF estimates, German GDP will contract by 0.1% this year and grow by 1.1% in 2024. But the head of the Bundesbank is more optimistic than the IMF. “The German economy has been performing well over the past couple of months, which speaks to its ability to adapt to the situation as the energy crisis has more or less been resolved. Until recently, we had cause for concern, but now our forecasts have become more optimistic.”

Mr. Nagel also noted Germany’s progress in diversifying sources of liquefied natural gas supplies and its solid reserves in storage facilities, largely due to the past warm winter. “In addition, the German industry has a good margin of safety to work in the current situation, and I believe that we will be able to overcome (difficulties.— ”b”),” the head of the German Central Bank emphasized.

Evgeniy Khvostik