Germany's Altmaier: We're hoping the economy will stabilise in H2

The Germany economy is expected to contract by more than 8% in some months of the first half, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Thursday but added that they are hoping the economy to stabilise in the second half of the year.

"The GDP decline in the year overall could be bigger than during the 2009 financial crisis," Altmaier noted. There is a good chance for some economic growth next year. We will need not just one-off support but a broad stimulus package on which the government is currently working."

Market reaction

Germany's DAX 30 Index largely ignored these remarks and was last seen adding 0.4% on the day. Meanwhile, the EUR/USD pair was down 0.45% at 1.0910.