The period of economic freefall has ended and the road to recovery will be a bumpy one, European Central Bank Governing Council member Axel Weber said in an interview published today.
"The freefall phase has stopped. We are in a stabilisation period (and) in some markets the prices have tended to move slightly upward," he told German daily Frankfurter Rundschau.
"The economic recovery will take a long time, the German economy will return to the level of prosperity it had in 2008 possibly only in 2013. And the way upward will be bumpy," he said.
Mr Weber added he believed unemployment would increase as temporary employment support measures had kept unemployment artificially low. Given the outlook for employment Weber said any surge in inflation was unlikely.
"The Bundesbank expects around 4.3 million jobless in the coming year. This figure could rise again in 2011, but I don't think we will reach the level of 5 million," he said.
He urged the next German government to make budget consolidation a key priority.
Reuters