OECD raises eurozone growth forecasts
By Honor Mahony
The eurozone is likely to grow by 2.7 percent this year, the OECD said on Tuesday (5 September) upgrading its growth forecasts for the 12-nation zone.
In its interim assessment, the Paris-based organisation raised its 2006 GDP growth forecast for the eurozone to 2.7 percent, up from 2.2 percent.
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According to the organisation, several "transitory factors" helped the recovery including the World Cup in Germany, spending in the German construction sector and the fall in unemployment rates across the eurozone.
Within the eurozone, the forecast for Germany has been raised to 2.2 percent from 1.8 percent and for France to 2.4 percent from 2.1 percent.
The OECD also indicated that the data for the first half of 2006 point to "some gradual rebalancing" of economic growth on both sides of the Atlantic but that this is only likely to be temporary.
"Following this catch up, growth is likely to slow somewhat in Europe whilst the US and Japanese expansions regain some momentum," OECD chief economist Jean-Philippe Cotis said.