BERLIN, April 19: Germany will register solid growth next year with low unemployment despite the eurozone crisis, the country’s top economic institutes said on Thursday, revising up forecasts for Europe’s biggest economy.

Europe’s powerhouse will grow by 0.9 per cent this year and then by 2.0 per cent in 2013, said the institutes, which advise the government in Berlin on economic policy.

The institutes had previously said Germany would grow by 0.8 per cent this year. It was their first forecast for 2013.

“After a difficult six months during winter, the German economy is in an upswing,” the institutes said in a joint statement.

Unemployment levels should continue to drop, the institutes added, falling to 6.6 per cent in 2012 and 6.2 per cent in 2013.

The economic experts were however divided over the role of the European Central Bank, with some arguing the Frankfurt-based ECB should act as lender of last resort and others saying this would compromise its independence.

Germany has shown great resistance to the eurozone debt crisis, surprising analysts with continued falls in unemployment while partners in Europe are suffering.

The International Monetary Fund also revised higher its forecasts for Germany this week. The German government expects growth of 0.7 per cent this year and 1.6 per cent next year. Germany’s deficit should be 0.6 per cent of gross domestic product in 2012 and 0.2 per cent in 2013, far below the EU’s limit of three per cent of GDP.—AFP