Awwal 11, 1432 / April 15, 2011, SPA -- The German economy grew nearly double as fast as had been expected in the first quarter, at an estimated 0.8 to 1 per cent, Bundesbank president Axel Weber said Friday. Weber is in Washington attending a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank heads ahead of the spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on Saturday. Weber said that Germany's rigorous economic recovery means 2011 growth could make current 2.5-per-cent projections look conservative. Weber said however that the current quarter will see a "certain restraint." Weber said Germany's recovery had broadened, but given the dominant role of exports for the economy, it was still dependent on performance of the world economy. Japan was expecting production gaps due to the earthquake, but saw the downturn limited to the second and third quarters of 2011, Weber and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said.
