Berlin  - In a surprise move, German Economics Minister Michael Glos offered to resign Saturday, less that eight months before the country votes in a general election, sources close to the minister said.

The sources confirmed a report in the newspaper Bild am Sonntag, which said the 64-year-old minister had informed Chancellor Angela Merkel of his intention.

Glos is a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party of Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU). He has headed the economics ministry since November 2005 when Merkel took office in a grand coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD).

Glos expressed his desire to step down in a letter to CSU leader Horst Seehofer, who is also prime minister of the southern state of Bavaria.

Bild am Sonntag, which said it had obtained a copy of the letter, said Glos told Seehofer he wanted to quit in order to make way for a renewal in the CSU.

The party lost its absolute majority in Bavarian state elections last September and was forced to seek a coalition with the business-oriented Free Democrats (FDP).

After the election setback, "renewal, creative power and credibility are needed more urgently than ever," the minister said in his letter, according to the newspaper.

He told Seehofer that after the general election on September 27 he no longer wanted to remain in the government and asked to be relieved of his cabinet duties, the report said.

He told Seehofer he should decide whether to replace him as soon as possible by another member of the CSU or to wait until after the elections.

Sources said it was likely Seehofer would name a replacement quickly. Peter Ramsauer, the tough-talking head of the CSU parliamentary party in Berlin, was seen as the most likely successor.

In line with tradition, the parties in the ruling coalition propose replacements for their own members who leave the cabinet.

A member of the CSU since 1970, Glos was elected to parliament in 1976. Before moving to his cabinet job, he was leader of the CSU parliamentary group in Berlin.

Glos, who took a conservative approach to economic policy, often cut an uncomfortable figure in the cabinet and was at odds with Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel, a Social Democrat.

His decision to quit comes at a time when Germany is facing its deepest recession in decades, with growth slumping, unemployment rising and banks reluctant to provide credit.

Last month the government announced a 50-billion-euro (65-billion-dollar) fiscal stimulus package to help Europe's biggest economy weather the economic downturn.

If Glos's resignation is accepted he will be the third minister to leave Merkel's cabinet after Seehofer quit as agriculture minister in October 2008 and Franz Muentefering resigned the labour portfolio in November 2007. (dpa)