German Chancellor Angela Merkel now supports the expansion of euro zone's financial firewall by €200 billion
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany now supports the enlargement of the euro zone's financial firewall by €200 billion. REUTERS

The German government Wednesday lowered its forecast for economic growth in 2013 from 1.6 percent to 1 percent, as the euro zone’s debt crisis and slowing global trade undercut the performance of Europe's largest economy.

"Germany is navigating stormy waters because of the European sovereign debt crisis and an economic weakening in emerging nations in Asia and Latin America," German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler said in a statement.

The predicted levels of growth in gross domestic product, or GDP, for the next two years would mark a notable slowdown from the previous two years. German GDP grew 4.2 percent in 2010 and 3 percent in 2011.

For the current year, the government slightly raised its economic growth outlook to 0.8 percent from 0.7 percent, which it predicted in April.

"The good news is that the German economy is holding up and still on a growth path, despite all the global economic turbulence," Roesler said.

Germany