German government raises 2015 growth forecast to 1.5%

The German government is forecasting economic growth of 1.5 percent this year, higher than originally expected, according to the economy ministry's annual report obtained by AFP on Tuesday. Initially, the government had been pencilling in gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 1.3 percent for this year after it expanded by 1.5 percent in 2014. Last year, the German economy, Europe's biggest, enjoyed strong growth in the first quarter but suffered a sharp slowdown in subsequent quarters