The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) more than tripled its forecast for US 2002 economic growth to 2.5 per cent from 0.7 per cent.
The organisation said growth momentum is returning to the OECD area, led by the US recovery.
"The US is leading the upturn. Rapid and forceful monetary action, together with fiscal expansion, helped bring about renewed growth from late 2001," the OECD said in its semiannual Economic Outlook.
The upgrade in the OECD's US growth forecast is even greater than that of the IMF, which recently raised its US growth forecast to 2.3 per cent from 0.7.
The OECD's other revisions to its projections were more modest. The body trimmed its forecast for euro zone 2002 growth to 1.3 per cent, from 1.4 per cent in the December 2001 edition of the outlook.
This is the opposite view to the European Commission, which yesterday raised its euro zone growth forecast for this year to 1.4 per cent from 1.3.
However, the OECD it upgraded its projection for Japanese 2002 GDP to a decline of 0.7 per cent compared with a previous forecast that it would contract 1.0 per cent.
For 2003, the OECD trimmed its forecast for US growth to 3.5 per cent from 3.8 per cent and cut its projection for euro zone growth to 2.9 per cent from 3.0 per cent. Japan is now expected to grow 0.3 per cent in 2003 compared with a previous forecast that it would grow 0.8 per cent in 2003.
The OECD area is projected to grow 1.8 per cent this year and 3 per cent next, compared with previous forecasts of growth of 1.0 per cent in 2002 and 3.2 per cent for 2003.
AFP