BERLIN, Dec 1: Germany’s metals and electrical engineering industry association expects growth in the sector to slow by about half next year due to the weak US dollar, finance market turmoil and soaring energy costs, the group’s president said on Saturday.

The sector would probably grow by 4.5 percent at the most in 2008 after expansion of eight per cent this year, Gesamtmetall President Martin Kannegiesser wrote in a guest article published in Saturday’s edition of the Bild newspaper.

“We must gradually get used to waning growth,” he wrote.

“The dollar decline, the financial crisis and energy prices will impact the global economy, and our sector depends on this.” The German finance ministry said on Friday the dollar could post a further steep fall against the euro and turbulence on financial markets may hurt global economic growth more than expected.

In its latest projections for Germany’s public finances, the ministry said that risks to growth included the rising cost of raw materials, especially oil.—Reuters