German government forecasts that the country’s economy will shrink by 0.4% this year

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s government says it expects the country’s economy to shrink by 0.4% this year. The German government joined a string of other forecasters on Wednesday in revising sharply downward its outlook for Europe’s biggest economy. The revised forecast contrasted with the 0.4% growth that the government predicted in late April. The Economy Ministry said that “the effects of the energy price crisis in combination with global economic weakness are weighing down the German economy more persistently than was assumed in the spring.” The International Monetary Fund forecast on Tuesday that the German economy will shrink by 0.5%. A group of leading German economic think tanks last month predicted a 0.6% contraction.