WASHINGTON -- The Business Roundtable said Wednesday in Washington they expect the gross domestic product growth rate to slow. The Business Roundtable is an association of chief executives from 160 large companies. U.S. chief executives expect economic growth to slow in 2005 to 3.5 percent from slightly more than 4 percent this year.

Hank McKinnell, the association's chairman, said the slowdown probably will be the result of "high oil prices, which increase costs to many companies and force consumers to spend more on gasoline and heating oil, and to trim other expenditures."

The proportion of executives citing energy-cost pressures was three times what it was a year ago, the association said.

Still, 85 percent of the executives polled said they expect their company's sales to increase in the next six months, and half said they expect capital spending to increase as well.

The executives were more cautious about the outlook for job growth: 40 percent said they expect an increase in hiring, but another 40 percent said they expect no change.

Copyright 2004 by United Press International