FRANKFURT (AFX) - German economy minister Werner Mueller said the euro still has room to appreciate further against the US dollar, after nearly reaching parity on Friday. "Any (euro/dollar) exchange rate is imaginable," Mueller told Die Welt in an interview. "The competitiveness and development of the US economy has been exaggerated. Therefore the euro's value could still increase further." Mueller also emphasised the euro's surge against the dollar will only have a "marginal" effect on German exporters, since only 20 pct of the country's exports are denominated in dollars. The economy minister repeated his bullish forecast in the interview that growth could reach 3 pct next year, well over the government's own forecast of 2.5 pct. He gave an upbeat target for labour market prospects, saying unemployment should sink below 3.5 mln by Summer 2003 as the economy gains pace. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had originally promised to cut the number of jobless to 3.5 mln by this Autumn, but with totals at 3.95 mln in May the government is still embarrassingly far off this goal. Mueller also said he is confident that by the end of the decade Germany will have reached full employment as the number of workers falls back for demographic reasons.