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Berlin revises 2015 growth

January 27, 2015

Media reports have claimed the German government has revised its 2015 growth outlook for the national economy in 2015. It said GDP would grow by 1.5 percent this year, up from a previous and more cautious estimate.

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Porsche production unit in Leipzig, Germany Jan Woitas/dpa
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Woitas

According to reports by Reuters and AFP news agencies, the German government sees GDP growth come in at 1.5 percent this year, up from an earlier estimate of just 1.3 percent for the whole of 2015.

The figures are part of the government's 2015 Economic Outlook to be presented by Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel during an official news conference in Berlin Wednesday.

The draft document says the improved outlook is mainly down to continuously low oil prices and the most recent labor market data.

More jobs to be created

The German economy is "in good shape," the report says, with more people than ever having a job and the unemployment rate expected to drop further to 6.6 percent in 2015, down from 6.7 percent last year. This would leave 2.9 million people out of work in the country in the course of the year.

Berlin says it also predicts a 3.6-percent rise in exports this year due to the weak euro against the greenback, but warns that the foreign trade environment remains difficult in light of geopolitical tensions over Ukraine and continuously slow growth in fellow eurozone nations.

The Euro under Pressure - Opportunity or risk for the German economy?

In its report, the German government pledges to support bigger leeway for more private investments in the country's infrastructure. It adds that more taxpayers' money will go into education, also with a view to getting more skilled workers for the economy.

hg/bk (Reuters, AFP, AP)