German Economy Could Grow By 4% This Year: Minister

Berlin, June 3 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Jun, 2021 ) :The German government expects economic growth of up to four percent this year, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said Thursday, raising the official forecast as Europe's top economy roars back.

"Germany resisted the recession better than many predicted, growth fell less than in many countries and the recovery started earlier," Altmaier told reporters.

The election-year good news for Chancellor Angela Merkel's right-left government comes just weeks after Berlin had lifted its growth projection for 2021 to 3.5 percent.

Altmaier said recent data made him even more optimistic, calling it "possible that growth will come in somewhere between 3.5 and four percent".

Massive stimulus packages unleashed by the European Union and Germany itself have helped blunt the most severe effects of the pandemic.

The upturn comes after Germany posted a 4.9 percent contraction in 2020, the worst economic report card since the financial crisis of 2009.

Germany's economy had a rough first quarter of 2021, shrinking by 1.7 percent as rising coronavirus infections forced shutdowns to be extended.