German Finance Minister Mr Hans Eichel, dismissing a newspaper report as exaggerated, said today he knew of no plans by credit rating agencies to cut Germany's triple-A rating.
The report in the Financial Timesquoted an official at international credit rating agency Fitch Ratings as saying the top-notch rating could no longer be taken for granted.
"I don't know of any such plans. There is one report in one newspaper. I find it all very exaggerated," Mr Eichel told reporters in Berlin.
A Fitch official confirmed the report which apppeared in the FT's European and German editions, but stressed it saw no need to take pressing action on Germany's rating.
It would visit Germany in the first quarter of next year to take a "long, hard look" at the situation, he said.
"There is no crisis for the foreseeable future to warrant any action," Mr Nick Eisinger, director in the sovereign ratings group at Fitch told reporters.
"We try to take a long term view on these things. If the current level of deterioration in Germany continues and deflation sets in, then the triple-A rating can not be taken for granted."
German Economy and Labour Minister Mr Wolfgang Clement said he did not think analysts were the right people to assess the state of Germany, but he was confident they would soon change their mind about Germany's situation.
"I'm very confident that analysts will soon assess the situation differently," he said. A finance ministry official said the newspaper report was "no grounds to panic".