Germany revises down economic forecast for 2013 to 1%

(MENAFN) Germany's Economic Minister, Philipp Roesler, stated that the government revised down its outlook for the country's economic growth in 2013 to 1 percent from previous estimates of 1.6 percent, reported Xinhua News. Roesler attributed the new forecast to the euro zone debt crisis and sluggish economic growth in emerging countries in Asia and Latin America. In the second quarter, Germany's economy grew only 0.3 percent, compared with an expansion of 0.5 percent in the first quarter. It is worth noting that Germany expects its economy to expand 0.8 percent during the current year.