German government cuts economic forecast, sees 2.2% growth

BERLIN (AP) — The German government is forecasting that the country’s economy, Europe’s biggest, will grow by only 2.2% this year as Russia’s war in Ukraine weighs on prospects. The Economy Ministry on Wednesday chopped the outlook for gross domestic product from the 3.6% growth it forecast in January. It sees only slightly faster growth of 2.5% in 2023. The government’s revised outlook is gloomier than a recent assessment by leading economic think tanks that the economy will expand by 2.7% this year, but more optimistic than a prediction of 1.8% growth by its own panel of independent economic advisers.