Bundesbank's Weidmann Sees German Slowdown Lasting Into 2019

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said Germany’s economic weakness carried into 2019 and will result in significantly lower growth than predicted just a few weeks ago -- while reiterating that a temporary slowdown shouldn’t deter the European Central Bank from normalizing policy.

Even though German growth will clock in well below the economy’s potential rate of 1.5 percent this year, “there’s no reason for doom-mongering,” Weidmann said in a speech in Mannheim, Germany. “A protracted dent in output isn’t a total economic loss -- in other words: I don’t see a sudden slump, nor can I see a longer phase of noticeably declining economic activity.”