German economy minister calls for interest rate cut

Germany's economy minister Wolfgang Clement called for the European Central Bank to cut interest rates in response to the strength of the euro.

Clement said he hopes the ECB will give signal a response in the form of an interest cut to the euro's rapid appreciation.

Attending an SPD party congress, Clement said the euro's strength and the weakness of the dollar currently pose the greatest risk to German economic growth.

The ECB governing council held its first monetary policy meeting of the year this morning and its decision on interest rates is to be announced later this afternoon.