The German government cut its economic outlook for next year, citing stalling effects from the debt crisis in the euro area and slower growth in Asia hurting exports. Europe’s largest economy will expand 1 percent in 2013, compared with a forecast for gross domestic product growth of 1.6 percent projected in May, Economy Minister Philipp Roesler said in Berlin today. He raised this year’s GDP forecast to 0.8 percent from 0.7 percent, citing a better-than-expected autumn. “Germany is crossing through stormy waters because of the European sovereign-debt crisis and economic weakening in developing countries in Asia and Latin America,� Roesler said in an e-mailed statement. While he lauded the economy’s ability to hold up against the global strain, Roesler pointed to the three-year-old crisis that has sapped investor confidence as Greece struggles to stay afloat and Spain mulls a request for aid. Slower growth in countries such as China will also impact exports, which will climb 4.4 percent next year instead of 5 percent. Even though the outlook for German growth in the second half of 2012 is better than expected in May, waning investment will increasingly impact the economy over the winter months, Roesler said. He predicted that the world economy will “come back into swing� next year. The economy minister also forecast a steady labor market, with an average of 2.9 million Germans out of work over the course of 2013. To contact the reporters on this story: Brian Parkin in Berlin at bparkin@bloomberg.net; Patrick Donahue in Bucharest at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net

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