According to Jens Weidmann, the German economy will continue to slow down in 2019

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann believes that Germany's economy will continue to weaken in 2019. This will lead to significantly less growth than projected until just a few weeks ago. However, he thinks that this delay should not prevent the European Central Bank from starting a monetary normalization policy.

While the uncertainty surrounding the German economy remains high especially at the time of the still unresolved trade dispute between the US and China and the Shakespearean drama - Brexit - Weidmann expressed confidence in prospects after 2019. December forecast for growth of 1.6% in 2020 and 1.5% growth in 2021 is still realistic.

However, inflation in the euro area is expected to remain low this year due to low oil prices. However, in the mid-term, Jens believes that a strong labor market and pressure on wage growth should continue.

"There are several people who have already insisted on slowly and gently imposing monetary normalization." - says Weidmann. He is one of the candidates for heir to Mario Draghi when his mandate expired as President of the ECB in October this year. "In any case, the process of normalization will take several years, but it is also important that we do not waste time: any change in monetary policy needs to be optimal over time and to see how it responds to unforeseen economic turmoil in the future ".

Source: Bloomberg Finance L.P.

Photo: Deutsche Bundesbank Twitter

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