The impact of Germany’s current lockdown on the economy is not too severe and Berlin will use its fiscal firepower, which is adequate, where support is needed, Reuters quoted Finance Minister Olaf Scholz as saying on Tuesday.

Berlin is forecasting economic growth to rebound by 4.4 per cent this year after an estimated 5.5pc contraction in 2020, though some private forecasters regard the official outlook as optimistic given the country is once again in grip of lockdowns.

Last month, Germany’s Ifo institute cut its 2021 growth forecast to 4.2pc from 5.1pc.

Germany unveiled a 130-billion euro stimulus package last June, the centrepiece of a fiscal response to Covid-19 that is among the largest of any Western nation.