The International Monetary Fund Tuesday slightly cut its 2008 outlook for Germany's economy due to weaker U.S. growth and the appreciation of the euro - and oil prices should dampen growth. But, it raised its growth forecast slightly for this year . The Washington-based fund forecasts growth of 2.5% for this year and 1.9% for 2008, saying that the economic cycle is weakening. In its autumn World Economic Outlook, published in October, the IMF predicted German real gross domestic product growth of 2.4% for 2007 and 2.0% for 2008. "The uncertainties have increased. A sharper-than-projected economic deceleration in the U.S. would further dampen German growth," the IMF said in its 2007 Article IV consultation report. "While the effect of euro appreciation should remain modest if the global imbalances continue to unwind in an orderly way, a disruptive unwinding of global imbalances and, hence, sharply lower world growth would also amplify the consequences of a strong euro. Higher-than-expected oil prices also remain a possibility."