West Germany Economic Growth Forecast: West German...

West Germany Economic Growth Forecast: West German economic growth next year is likely to exceed forecasts so far and rise by at least 3%, Finance Minister Theo Waigel said. Waigel’s prediction for Europe’s largest economy was more optimistic than that made in August by Economics Minister Helmut Haussmann, who predicted 1990 gross national product growth of between 2.5% and 3%. “In 1990 we are likely to have a three before the decimal point,” Waigel said in a speech to parliament during the first reading of next year’s federal budget. The government expects 1989 growth of 3.5%, but the Bundesbank, West Germany’s central bank, says growth of more than 4% is possible.