Germany's six leading economic institutes will raise their 2004 growth forecast to 1.8 percent in their autumn report published on Tuesday from 1.5 percent they predicted in the spring, institute sources told Reuters on Sunday.
The sources also said the institutes, which have all individually raised their 2004 forecasts since the spring, will leave the 2005 target of 1.5 percent unchanged in their joint twice-yearly report.
Only the Berlin-based DIW institute disagreed with the joint 2005 forecast of 1.5 percent and will predict gross domestic product growth of two percent for next year when the six institutes publish their autumn report on Tuesday.
The information from the sources confirmed a report in Welt am Sonntag newspaper published on Sunday.
Germany, which has suffered three straight years of meagre growth, was dealt a setback last week when several top companies unveiled plans to cut around 15,000 domestic jobs.
The economy has seen a modest export-driven recovery and is expected to grow by around 2 percent this year. But hopes that this growth will feed into domestic demand and fuel a broader economic rebound are fading.
Klaus Zimmermann, head of the DIW institute, said in an interview with Welt am Sonntag that he feared the recent spate of layoffs, such as those announced by General Motors' Opel and Karstadt, could hit domestic demand.
"It's quite possible that this will hit consumer confidence and have a negative impact on consumption," Zimmermann said. But he added it would be hard to measure any direct impact the loss of jobs at Karstadt and Opel would have on consumption.
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