Bundesbank: Slightly More Growth in 2005

The Bundesbank is pencilling in growth of just over 1.5 percent for the German economy next year, the central bank's chief economist Hermann Remsperger said on Monday. "Adjusted for variations in the number of working days, the current year will show growth of just under 1.5 percent. And according to very preliminary estimates for 2005, likewise adjusted for working-day variations, we expect a growth rate slightly above the 2004 outcome," Remsperger said. Headline growth this year was actually likely to come out at just under 2 percent, but much of that was due to the fact that there were a greater number of working days in 2004 since many public holidays fell on the weekend. The 1.5 percent figure was adjusted for that effect. Nevertheless, the forecast was "a very conditional one," the Bundesbank's chief economist added. "Above all, it depends on the assumption that the oil price will come down from its current level." (AFP)