AUSTRIAN 1987 GROWTH SEEN BETWEEN 0.5 AND 1.5 PCT
A meeting of leading politicians,
bankers and economists has forecast Austrian real gross
domestic product growth for this year at between 0.5 and 1.5
pct, a government spokesman said.
    This compared with a two pct growth forecast made by the
semi-official Institute for Economic Research (WIFO) last
December.
    Helmut Kramer, spokesman for Chancellor Franz Vranitzky,
told Reuters that the forecast had been made during the meeting
attended by Vranitzky, Finance Minister Ferdinand Lacina,
National Bank President Stefan Koren and a WIFO representative.
    Economists have been cutting growth forecasts recently
mainly due to expectations of a poor export performance this
year, notably to Eastern Europe and oil exporting states.
    Hannes Androsch, general director of
Creditanstalt-Bankverein <CABV.VI>, today put 1987 GDP growth
at between one and 1.5 pct.
    Kramer also said the meeting had heard that unemployment
for the year would be above the 5.5 pct forecast, but was
unlikely to be more than six pct.
 REUTER
