The extent of the damage reaped on Germany's manufacturing base by covid was laid bare today as data showed a collapse of industrial output in the country.
Europe's most powerful economy saw output crash 17.9% in April against the previous month in what was the deepest fall since the data started being collected.
That marked a far worse outcome than the 16.5% decline investors expected.
The data showed output of capital goods - components used by other factories, rather than sold directly to the public - were the biggest affected, down 35.3%, as companies such as car factories stopped producing and ran down their existing supplies, analysts said.
The manufacture of goods sold direct to consumers was down 8.7% in the Ifo report.
Philip Shaw, economist at Investec, said: "This shows the extent of the downturn in continental Europe, but to be honest, it's not a big shock given the conditions we've had. While these figures are terrible, the hope is that April will be the trough both in Europe and the UK."
Germany is deep in recession and last week Angela Merkel ordered a e130 billion fiscal stimulus package aimed at reviving the economy, particularly its huge car industry. Measures included tax breaks and subsidies for buying electric vehicles.
New car sales in the country fell by half in May.
