German Economic Advisers Say Growth Will Fail to Pick Up in 2013

German economic growth will fail to pick up next year as the euro region’s sovereign debt crisis saps demand for German exports, the government’s council of economic advisers said in its annual report.

The German economy, Europe’s biggest, will expand 0.8 percent in 2013, the same pace as this year, the five-member council said in the 476-page report, which was published in Berlin today. Foreign trade won’t contribute to growth as imports accelerate faster than exports, it said.

“The second half of 2012 is characterized by widespread recessionary trends in the euro zone that impact on the German economy through foreign trade and confidence” and damp the economy’s expansion through declining investment, the report said.

Germany’s economy is showing signs of weakness as governments and consumers across the region cut spending, reducing export demand. Factory orders fell the most in a year and business confidence dropped to the lowest in more than 2 1/2 years in September.”

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