Comments by German economy minister, Peter Altmaier

Altmaier
  • Government will continue strong response to pandemic
  • But measures can only be temporary
  • We will do everything in our means to guarantee this will be the a recovery year
  • But economy likely to grow less than previously expected this year

Given how the virus restrictions are still likely to stay in place throughout Q1 and potentially until April, that does chip away at much of the optimism towards the end of last year.

This also adds to headwinds for the euro and European assets as the virus situation across the region still warrants more lockdown measures for the time being. The recent political drama in Italy only adds to the list so far to kick start the new year.