Germany’s economy will shrink by 6 per cent this year, making it one of the worst-performing large economies, the government said on Wednesday after slashing its official growth forecast.

Siemens gloom: workers at the company’s plant in Krefeld, Germany, that produces Velaro high­speed trains

Yet growth would resume next year, ending the worst recession in the Federal Republic’s history, said the government, brushing aside calls for a new fiscal stimulus to prop up consumption at home.