German Council of Economic Experts cuts 2019 GDP forecast to 0.8 pct

BERLIN, March 19 (Xinhua) -- The German Council of Economic Experts has cut its growth forecast for 2019 to 0.8 percent in 2019 and 1.7 percent in 2020, according to the Council's economic update published on Tuesday.

"The boom in the German economy has faded. However, given the robust domestic economy, a recession is currently not to be expected," said Christoph Schmidt, chairman of the Council.

The pace of expansion of the German economy has slowed noticeably, said the Council. Temporary production problems in the automotive and chemical industries were partly responsible.

The Council also noted that "the basic dynamics of the German economy have slowed down" due mainly to a significantly weaker export demand from important sales markets as well as labor bottlenecks and limits in capacity.

Similar to the report by the Bundesbank on Monday, the Council expected private consumption, construction investments and the government sector in particular to make positive contributions to the economic growth in 2019.

The Council believes that the risks to future economic development are currently very high. In addition to the uncertainties surrounding Brexit, the German economists warned that the global trade conflicts were contributing to the high level of risk.

In view of the already weakening global economic momentum, "a spiral of protectionist measures would have the potential to slide the German economy into recession," noted the Council.