FILE PHOTO: German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier speaks during a news conference with state secretary at the economic ministry Ulrich Nussbaum, investor Dietmar Hopp, on the screen left, and CureVac Acting CEO Franz-Werner Haas, on the screen right, at the economy ministry, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Berlin, Monday, June 15, 2020. Markus Schreiber/Pool via REUTERS
July 5, 2020
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Germany’s economy may recover from October onwards from the coronavirus pandemic, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said in a newspaper interview on Sunday.
“I am sure that the downturn of our economy can be stopped after the summer break and that from October onwards, the economy can start growing again in Germany,” he told the mass circulation Bild am Sonntag in an interview.
While the economy would shrink by 6% in 2020, growth by over 5% would be possible in 2021, Altmaier said.
His goal was to reach the level that employment was at before the crisis by 2022, and to start heading for regaining full employment after that date, he said.
Altmaier also said that the rate of the spread of the virus in the United Status was a major concern.
“A pandemic that gets out of control there, has big consequences for the world economy,” he said.
(Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
