According to the report from Destatis, the gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 1.7% in the 1st quarter of 2021 on the 4th quarter of 2020 after adjustment for price, seasonal and calendar variations. Economists had expected a 1.5% decrease.

After the German economy had recovered slightly in the second half of 2020 (by +8.7% in the 3rd quarter and +0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to most recent calculations), the coronavirus crisis caused another decline in economic performance at the beginning of 2021. This affected household consumption in particular, while exports of goods supported the economy.

GDP in the 1st quarter of 2021 was down a price-adjusted 3.3% and a price- and calendar-adjusted 3.0% compared with the 1st quarter of 2020. Compared with the 4th quarter of 2019, the quarter before the coronavirus crisis began, GDP was 4.9% lower in the 1st quarter of 2021.