Germany's Economic Woes Continue

Following the lead of the Kiel-based institute for economic research, IfW, another leading economic research institute has cut its growth forecasts for Germany.

The Hamburg Institute of International Economics said it expected gross domestic product in Germany to grow only by 0.2 percent this year and 0.7 percent in 2003. It had previously forecast 0.4 percent for 2002 and 1.4 percent for next year. "The economic outlook remains morose for 2003," the institute said in a statement.

The IfW had slashed its growth forecasts for 2002 and 2003 to just 0.2 percent and 1.0 percent respectively. Both institutes are more pessimistic than the German government which has officially forecast growth of 0.5 percent and 1.5 percent for 2002 and 2003 respectively.