Germany officially slips into recession after economy takes biggest hit

Germany : Germany has officially entered into recession after its economy shrank by 2.2 per cent in the first quarter of the year amid global coronavirus pandemic shutdown.

The latest official data defines how things have become bad for Europe's biggest economy amid the pandemic lockdown with worse yet to come.

The fall over the three months to March was the second-biggest quarterly decline since German reunification in 1990.

Like other European countries, Germany did not go into lockdown until around mid-March, and so the main impact of the restrictions on people and businesses will only become apparent in the current second quarter.

A 10% economic contraction is widely forecast for the period, although "the exact extent of the slump depends in part on the easing of restrictions on public life", said Albert Braakmann of Germany's federal statistics office. 

It is believed that Germany will be facing the worst recession post World War II.