WebProNews

With strong exporting, the German economy grew by 1.7 percent in 2004 making it the strongest of the past four years.

Domestic consumption went down 0.3% while exporting went up 8.2%.

Overall, the German economy clearly revived in 2004," said statistic office president Johann Hahlen. "But above all the job market and weak domestic demand remained problematic."

From TurkishPress.com"

"Germany is not stagnating. That is the good news," said Bank of America economist Holger Schmieding.

"With domestic demand expected to stay weak and the strong euro set to put the brakes on exports this year, 'there is no clear sign that growth this year will advance beyond a miserable 1.2 percent. I'm at a loss to see how growth could pick up enough to meet the government's official headline forecast of 1.7 percent,' Schmieding said.

UBS economist Holger Fahrinkrug was equally sceptical about the ability of the German economy to sustain its apparent turnaound."

"Slower global growth and the stronger euro will mean the net export contribution will shrink to zero in 2006. I'm forecasting growth of a meagre 1.0 percent for both 2005 and 2006," he said.

WebProNews | Breaking eBusiness News
Your source for investigative ebusiness reporting and breaking news.