Mr Scholz held firm on his opposition to a Russian gas ban on Friday, claiming that it would cause a “dramatic economic crisis” in Europe and millions of job losses without ending the war. 

The Bundesbank said a ban would “significantly weaken” the German economy and cause power rationing, delivering a €180bn (£151bn) blow in lost output compared to forecasts from March.

The central bank added it would trigger a recession, although the fall in GDP would be shallower than during the financial crisis and pandemic.

The IMF said the war is dealing a “serious setback” to Europe’s recovery, warning that high gas prices will disproportionately impact Germany, Italy and Hungary given their reliance on Russian imports.

Its analysts said: “Some of the largest European economies, like France, Germany, and Italy, are projecting very weak or negative quarterly growth in mid-2022.

“This setback to the recovery is hidden in the annual growth projections for these economies because of large carryover from 2021.”

The Fund handed Germany the biggest downgrade of any major economy bar Russia in gloomy updated forecasts earlier this week. 

It expects the German economy to grow 2.1pc this year despite a negative start to the year, in forecasts which assume there will not be a gas ban. The prediction was 1.7 percentage points lower than its January forecast, while Italy was also expected to be hard hit. Growth in Italy is expected to slow dramatically from 6.6pc in 2021 to 2.3pc this year.

The two countries are heavily reliant on Russian gas but also have outsized manufacturing sectors feeling the pinch from higher energy prices.