"For the first quarter of 2013 we expect a clear counter-reaction to the not surprising -0.6 percent in German GDP in last quarter of 2012," Weidmann told reporters at the end of a G20 summit in Moscow.

"In the euro-area it will last a little longer until we come to the turning point. It will not be in the first quarter, like in Germany, but probably ... the second half of the year".

The German economy shrank by 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter, more than at any time since the depth of the 2009 financial crisis.

Data out next week are likely to suggest better times ahead with morale among German firms and investors probably rising slightly in February while manufacturing expands for the first time in a year.

Weidmann repeated his concern about the "creeping politicisation of central banks" and the threat to their independence.