World growth brightening, IMF to lift forecast – G7

World economic growth is gathering pace, overcoming the worst oil price shock in over two decades and rising global interest rates, financial policymakers from top industrial nations said on Saturday. The International Monetary Fund said it expects to upgrade its world growth forecast for 2006, already a robust 4.3 percent rate compared with a 3.9 percent average in the past decade.

This marks a turnaround from a cautious reading delivered three months ago, when policymakers fretted that a doubling in crude oil prices since 2003 could undo global recovery. The change reflects a better-than-expected performance in the United States and China, and strengthening upswings in Japan and Europe.

reuters