Germany's finance ministry expects the country's budget deficit to fall to 1.5 per cent this year, meeting the Maastricht 3 per cent deficit requirement two years earlier than required and for the budget to be balanced by 2014, it said today.
So far, the finance ministry has said the deficit - buoyed by a faster-than-expected recovery in Europe's largest economy - would likely fall to below 2 per cent of gross domestic product this year. However, it still expected a budget deficit in 2015. The figure stood at 3.3 per cent in 2010, higher than the 3 per cent allowed under Maastricht criteria.
Germany's debt mountain should fall to 80 per cent by the end of the year, down three percentage points from a year earlier and should drop continuously to 71 per cent in 2015, the ministry said in its monthly report. Maastricht sets a limit of 60 per cent.
Germany has been the star performer in Europe since the end of the 2008 financial crisis, and its swift recovery has helped stimulate European trade partners.
However, its economy has already slowed, potentially creating further repercussions elsewhere in an already fragile euro zone.
Germany's tax take rose 9.9 per cent from a year ago in July.
The finance ministry also said current turmoil on financial markets could further dampen consumer demand but that it still expected the economy to be on a positive trend.
Reuters
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