German govt sees growth slowing in second quarter
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE
FRANKFURT: The German economy, which bounced back to growth of 0.5 percent in the first quarter of 2012, will witness a slower rate of growth in the second quarter, the finance ministry predicted yesterday.
"Current economic indicators suggest that growth has probably slowed somewhat in the second quarter," the ministry wrote in its latest monthly report, without providing any concrete forecast figure.
In the first three months of this year, the gross domestic product (GDP) of Europe's biggest economy expanded by 0.5 percent on a quarterly basis following a contraction of 0.2 percent in the preceding three months.
Nevertheless, experts and analysts agree that growth is slowing again as the long-running euro zone debt crisis hits exports, traditionally the main driver of the German economy.
"Industrial activity picked up again somewhat in May. But it will shift down a gear or two for the remainder of the year," the Finance Ministry wrote.
Export growth would also slow as the economies of Germany's trading partners weaken.
The government is currently penciling in growth of 0.7 percent for the entire year.
The German central bank or Bundesbank recently upgraded its full-year growth forecast to 1.0 percent from 0.6 percent previously.
The country's leading economic institutes are predicting growth of 0.9 percent, while the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has set a forecast of 1.2 percent for Germany.
German govt sees growth slowing in second quarter
