BERLIN: Germany, Europe's top economy, could notch up growth of 2.0 percent or more this year if investment picks up and the eurozone stabilises, the powerful BDI industry federation said on Thursday.
"The BDI is confident about the economic outlook this year. It should be possible to achieve growth with a 'two' before the decimal point," BDI president Ulrich Grillo said. "That would be five times the growth we saw in 2013," Grillo said.
A day earlier, a preliminary estimate by the federal statistics office Destatis put gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 0.4 percent last year, the lowest level for four years.
"But whether the growth impulses that are there actually have any effect lies largely in the hands of the politicians," Grillo said.
BDI's forecast is more optimistic than the German government's own prognosis of growth 1.7 percent. The International Monetary Fund is pencilling in growth of 1.4 percent for Germany this year. "The global economic environment is looking brighter. And the euro area is also gradually moving out of recession. These are all positive signals for German exports," the BDI chief said. The main driver of growth will be consumer spending, with high wage increases, low inflation expectations and the favourable outlook on the labour market supporting this, the BDI said.
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