Germany Lowers Growth Forecast

The German government lowered its economic growth forecast for the current year to 2.3%, although it said the outlook remains good and expects growth next year to be strong as well. The new forecast is slightly lower than the expectations announced in January for growth of 2.4% in 2018. For 2019, the forecast is for gross domestic product growth of 2.1%, Finance Apprise reported. This is close to last year’s economic growth of 2.2%, which was the strongest in six years. The German economy, which is the largest in Europe, is in good shape and the new forecast is within very realistic frameworks, according to the Economy Minister Peter Altmaier. However, he expressed concerns about the development of international trade relations, noting that Germany is a major exporter. The European Union seeks to continue to be excluded from the new tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump on imports of steel and aluminum. Altmaier said, although German exports of steel and aluminum to the US are not a huge factor in itself, his concerns are more general-–that such a trade dispute may escalate.