Germany Increases GDP Forecast for 2011 to +2.3%

 Associated Press:  The German government on Wednesday raised its growth forecast for the country’s economy this year to 2.3%, predicting that slower but solid growth in exports will be accompanied by stronger private spending.Officials expect somewhat slower economic growth of 1.8% in 2012, Economy Minister Ranier Breuderle said.

“Germany’s economy achieved the comeback of the year in 2010,” Bruederle said. “2011 will be a good year. The upswing has two stable legs: export and domestic demand.”

The government increased its 2011 forecast from the 1.8% it predicted in October.

The change comes after official data showed that Europe’s biggest economy expanded by a powerful 3.6% last year — its fastest pace since reunification two decades ago — as rebounding exports were accompanied by strengthening domestic demand.

The German economy shrank by a painful 4.7 percent in 2009.  Read more of the AP report at Yahoo News.….