WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) - Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said on Thursday that the oil price shock due to the Iran war will take a toll on the German economy but is unlikely to trigger a recession. 

"A great deal would have to happen for us to enter a recession now," Nagel said in Washington, on a panel with Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund spring meetings. 

He added that while the economy had got off to a "respectable start" this year, the war in the Middle East was acting as a brake on growth. 

The German government has halved its growth forecast for 2026 and also cut its growth prediction for 2027, while raising its inflation projections, a source told Reuters on Thursday.

(Reporting by Christian Kraemer, Maria Martinez and Reinhard Becker; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

By Christian Kraemer