German growth around 3.3pc in 2011

BERLIN: Munich-based Ifo said on Wednesday it expects Germany's economy to grow 3.3 percent this year and 2.3 percent in 2012.

That outpaces the figure of 2.4 percent for 2011 that the think tank issued with its previous half-yearly predictions in December.

It had signalled in the intervening months it would hike that number, reflecting the country's faster than expected bounce-back from the economic crisis and sustained high levels of expansion through the early part of the year.

The government's latest forecast, from April, is for 2.6 percent, but Chancellor Angela Merkel has signalled that number would also be revised higher.

On Friday the think tank's business climate index for June showed an unexpected gain, suggesting Germany's economy is still outpacing its euro zone peers, but firms were at their least upbeat about the future in more than a year, pointing to slower growth in coming months.

COPYRIGHT REUTERS, 2011