Germany’s economic boom times are over and Europe’s largest economy is on the way to a more normal growth path, Ifo economist Klaus Wohlrabe told Reuters on Monday after its latest survey showed a deterioration in German business confidence.
Wohlrabe said the spectre of a global trade war sparked by US President Donald Trump and a slowing global economy contributed to the drop in the Ifo business climate index to 101.8 in June.
He added that uncertainty among German companies was growing and export expectations had fallen further. The recent crisis in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition over migration was not reflected in the June survey, Wohlrabe said.