German economic think-tank the Ifo Institute said today it expects German GDP growth of 1.8% next year.
Its president Hans-Werner Sinn said next year's tax cuts should account for 0.2% points of the expected growth, with a further 0.5% points generated by the higher number of working days in 2004 compared with 2003.
The economic outlook has not been so favourable in Germany for some time, Sinn said at the presentation of Ifo's latest forecasts in Munich today.
He said a recovery in the German labour market is still not in sight and that unemployment will ease slightly to an average 4.30 million people in 2004 from 4.38 million in 2003, but only as a result of statistical adjustments.
