BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's BDI industry association on Tuesday raised its 2017 growth forecast for Europe's biggest economy, adding that exporters were benefiting from a global economic recovery.
"The German economy is picking up speed," BDI said in its quarterly economic report. It now expects gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 1.8 percent on an unadjusted basis this year, up from its previous estimate of 1.5 percent.
"Adjusted for calendar effects, this corresponds with a growth rate of slightly more than two percent," it said, adding the main reason for the improved growth outlook was the global economic recovery.
In the first half of the year German exports rose by almost four percent, BDI said. "We also expect a similar expansion rate for the second half," it said.
"In addition to construction investment, equipment investment is also rising thanks to the high capacity utilization in the industry," it said.