Germany balances budget for first time since 1969

Wednesday, 14 January 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany has balanced the federal budget for the first time in almost half a century, helped by strong tax revenues and rock-bottom interest rates, but the extra leeway is unlikely to translate into spending that could boost weak euro zone growth.

Berlin had been aiming to achieve the so-called “schwarze Null” in 2015 - but the finance ministry announced on Tuesday it had got there in 2014, a year ahead of schedule. It was the first time since 1969 that Germany had achieved the feat and is both a domestic and European political fillip for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government, which wrote the goal into a coalition agreement in late 2013 and has preached budget discipline to the likes of Greece. Peter Tauber, general secretary of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said the budget was a “historic success” and sent a clear signal to the rest of Europe that Berlin was leading by example and now only spending money in its coffers.