OECD Slashes 2005 Growth Forecast

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development slashed on Tuesday its forecast for German growth next year and predicted that the German deficit ratio would exceed EU limits for the fourth year in a row in 2005. In its latest Economic Outlook, the OECD said it expected the economy to expand by just 1.4 percent next year, much slower than a previous forecast of 2.1 percent published in May. As for the current year, German gross domestic product (GDP) would expand by an estimated 1.2 percent, the OECD predicted, fractionally higher than a previous forecast for growth in 2004 of 1.1 percent.