Finance Chief: German Economy Still On Course For 3 Percent Growth This Year
2011-08-22 16:42:43
Germany's finance minister says the country's economy is still on course to grow by 3 percent this year despite an unexpectedly weak second-quarter performance.
The German economy -- Europe's biggest -- grew by 3.6 percent last year, pulling up growth across the 17-nation eurozone.
But figures for this year's second quarter were disappointing -- showing that growth slowed to 0.1 percent from 1.3 percent in the first quarter.
Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Monday that growth expectations for 2011 are still better than they were at the beginning of the year.
Schaeuble told Deutschlandfunk radio that "everything speaks for ... us still achieving 3 percent growth this year."
He added that "there is a certain dampening of exaggerated expectations but there are no indications of a recession."