German growth could slow sharply in 2019: Weidmann

[April 12, 2019]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Germany's economy, the euro zone's biggest, could grow by less than 1 percent this year as trade disputes and Brexit uncertainty are weighing on investment, Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann said on Friday.

The Bundesbank predicted growth of 1.6 percent as recently as December but Weidmann said the IMF's new projection of 0.8 percent for 2019 was entirely plausible. That suggests the euro zone's economic powerhouse will be a drag on the wider bloc for the second year running.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber and Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Catherine Evans)

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