German economy to shrink by 2% this year if war escalates - Bundesbank

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The German economy would contract by nearly 2% this year if the war in Ukraine escalated, resulting in a boycott of Russian energy, weaker external demand and greater uncertainty, the Bundesbank said on Friday.

The German central bank said the fallout of Russia's invasion of Ukraine was already weakening the euro zone's economic recovery from its pandemic-induced slump.

But the picture would get much worse for the currency bloc, and particularly for manufacturing-heavy Germany, if events in Ukraine led the European Union to stop importing Russian crude oil, natural gas and coal.

"In the severe crisis scenario, real GDP in the current year would fall by almost 2% compared to 2021," the Bundesbank said.

"In addition, the inflation rate would be significantly higher for a longer period of time."

(Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Edmund Klamann)