April 17, 2007	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 28, 1428

FRANKFURT, April 16: The run of good news for the German economy, the biggest in Europe, looks set to continue for some time, with Bundesbank President Axel Weber arguing on Monday that current growth marks only the beginning of a longer upturn.

The BDI industry federation also upgraded its growth forecast for the current year to 2.5 per cent from 2.0 per cent previously, even if federation chief Juergen Thumann warned the government not to become complacent.The prospect of faster growth in Germany is likely to strengthen the European Central Bank's arguments for further monetary tightening in the entire 13-country eurozone, analysts said.

In an interview published in the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Monday, Bundesbank chief Weber said the recent slew of favourable economic news coming from Germany was only the beginning, hinting that the central bank might upgrade its growth forecast for the current year.

“The entry into the first quarter was very favourable, so there is a possibility that we will upgrade our forecast,” said Weber, who as head of the German central bank sits on the ECB's policy-setting governing council.

BDI chief Thumann told a news conference in Hanover that the current robust growth would make itself felt on the labour market where unemployment could feasibly fall below 3.5 million.—AFP