rki.news | Source: Anadolu
BERLIN: Germany’s Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said Monday that rising government borrowing costs were the result of global uncertainty triggered by what he called US President Donald Trump’s war in Iran.
Speaking after a meeting of German-speaking finance ministers in Liechtenstein, Klingbeil said the conflict had brought serious economic consequences.
“This war has changed nothing for the better in the region; it has also had profound economic effects on us,” he said, according to German news agency dpa.
He said people in Germany and elsewhere were feeling the impact through higher fuel prices. The conflict was also unsettling financial markets and pushing interest rates higher as government bond yields climbed.
Yields on government bonds, including benchmark 10-year German bonds, have risen sharply in recent weeks, making new borrowing more expensive and increasing pressure on Germany’s federal budget.
Klingbeil renewed his call for a windfall tax on oil companies that have recorded higher profits because of the conflict. He said firms benefiting from sharply rising prices should pay more.
The minister’s remarks came amid growing concern over the conflict’s economic consequences.