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 &lt;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.
  

