German economy will hit trough by end-Q2 at latest - minister

The German economy, Europe's largest, will have reached a trough by the end of the second quarter at the latest, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Wednesday. Altmaier expected the economy to return to pre-coronavirus levels early in 2022 and said he favored a phased unwinding of restrictions on public life if the coronavirus infection rate remains at current levels.

Germany's coronavirus reproduction rate, dubbed 'R', is at 1.0 in Germany, Lothar Wieler, president of the Robert Koch Institute said on Tuesday. That means one person with the virus infects one other on average.