The Bundesbank says economic recovery in Germany is proceeding only very slowly, and not at a fast enough rate to bring down high unemployment.
The central bank estimated in its April monthly report that German gross domestic product grew by a modest 0.25% in the first three months of 2004, little changed from the rate of growth seen in the preceding two quarters.
The German economy grew by only 0.2% in the second half of last year.
On a 12-month basis, German GDP grew by around 0.5% in the first quarter of this year compared with the first quarter of 2003.
The Bundesbank said exports performed well, but domestic demand remained subdued.
The German government is officially forecasting growth of 1.7% for all of 2004 after the Germany economy contracted by 0.1% in 2003.
