Carsten Brzeski, Chief Economist for ING Germany, said the the war in Ukraine meant the outlook for the German economy had “dramatically changed”, adding “The risk of another contraction in the first quarter of the year and hence a technical recession is high.”
Writing in a research note he explained: “The risk is high that the economic implications of the war are much more of a structural game-changer for the European and particularly the German economy than the pandemic has ever been.
“With high energy and commodity prices for a protracted period, possibly even energy supply interruptions, and an acceleration of deglobalisation, possibly Cold War 2.0, an export-oriented economy highly dependent on energy imports will suffer.”
Germany’s heavy dependence on Russia for energy has been laid bare by the Ukraine crisis with around 55 percent of the country’s natural gas and 34 percent of oil coming from Russia.