Global tensions, such as the crisis in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, are weighing on Germany's prospects: the Bundesbank, in its monthly bulletin, puts forward the hypothesis that the country's growth strength is at risk. The German central bank highlights how the sanctions issued by Western countries against Russia, together with the countermeasures adopted by Russia, have hit export-dependent companies, as well as some sectors of the national economy such as construction.
The Bundesbank's comments come days after the statistics office reported a preliminary estimate of GDP contracted by 0,2% in the second quarter compared with the first. 'A flurry of unfavorable news on the international front has weakened Germany's economic prospects in the second half of the year' explains Bundesbank in its monthly bulletin and 'current indicators question the assumptions on which the spring forecasts were based according to which the underlying cyclical trend would have further strengthened in the second half of 2014′.
