BRUSSELS (MNI) – European Central Bank Governing Council member
Axel Weber said Friday that Germany’s deficit should be no larger than
4.5% of GDP this year, while the German Finance Ministry slashed its
forecast to 4.0%

Speaking at a joint press conference during the informal Ecofin
meeting here, Weber and Deputy Finance Minister Joerg Asmussen said that
the faster than expected recovery helped Germany to keep the deficit
lower than feared.

“In Germany we should expect a deficit of only 4.5%. We expected
worse at the start of the year,” Weber said.

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–Frankfurt bureau tel.: +49-69-720142. Email: jtreeck@marketnews.com

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