German govt lowers GDP forecast

BERLIN, Mar 18 (Reuters): German government internally revised its growth outlook for Europe's biggest economy in 2019 to 0.8 per cent, the second revision in less than two months.

Handelsblatt, a business daily, said this citing a document of the Federal Government.

"Internally, the Federal Government is only expecting 0.8 per cent growth in 2019," Handelsblatt cited a confidential note of the finance ministry as saying.

A weakening world economy, risks such as an escalation of trade conflicts, and political risks in Europe such as Brexit and Italy's financial situation were reasons for the economic slowdown the note had mentioned, Handelsblatt said.

The German government had in January lowered its growth expectations for 2019 to 1.0 per cent from a previously expected 1.8 per cent.

Last week, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also lowered its growth forecast for Germany to 0.7 per cent, a cut of 0.9 percentage points.

"The current OECD forecast for 2019 on the grounds of present data does not seem to be implausible", Handelsblatt cited the ministerial note as saying.