Germany Growth Lower Than Thought, Thinktank Says A leading German economic thinktank is lowering its growth forecasts for the country this year and next in light of the debt problems afflicting a number of euro countries. The German Institute for Economic Research says Tuesday that it expects Europe's biggest economy to grow 0.9 percent in 2012 and 1.6 percent in 2013. Both are down on the previous predictions of 1 percent growth this year and 1.9 percent next. It says "the headwinds are continuing, production and new orders are weakening, and even in the labor market the situation has deteriorated somewhat." Still, Germany has weathered the crisis better than most European nations, and DIW is not predicting any quarters of negative growth. The IMF in July predicted 1 percent growth this year and 1.4 percent in 2013.