IMF EXPECTS 'RATHER SLUGGISH' GERMAN ECONOMIC GROWTH

WASHINGTON, July 17 (Bernama-dpa) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) anticipates "rather sluggish" economic growth in Germany, according to a report by the German news agency dpa on Tuesday.

The IMF blames a continuing weakness in production.

In their summer update, the organisation's experts left their forecasts for German economic growth unchanged at 0.2 per cent this year and 1.3 per cent in 2025.

In contrast, the IMF has become slightly more optimistic for the eurozone as a whole and raised its forecast to growth of 0.9 per cent following a forecast of 0.8 per cent in April. This was due to higher-than-expected exports and better growth in services.

The growth forecast for the US for this year was lowered slightly to 2.6 per cent from 2.7 per cent previously, after the economy started the year weaker than expected.

Overall, the IMF anticipates that the period of high interest rates could continue because price increases for services are dragging back the general slowdown in inflation.

The central banks in the US and the eurozone are keeping interest rates at a high level to keep inflation in check. Unlike the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank (ECB) has already slightly cut interest rates.

At the same time, experts at the Monetary Fund see growing tensions in global trade and political risks. This could accelerate inflation again, for example through higher prices for imports across the supply chain.

The IMF still expects the global economy to grow by 3.2 per cent this year - and has raised its outlook for 2025 to 3.3 per cent, compared to 3.2 per cent in its April forecast. 

--BERNAMA-dpa