LONDON—The International Monetary Fund raised its growth forecast for the U.K. economy this year, despite lowering its expectations for Germany, France, Italy and the euro zone.
The U.K. upgrade follows similar moves by economists at a number of banks in response to a series of data releases and surveys over recent months that have suggested the economy is in recovery, having grown 0.3% in the first three months of the year.
However, a decline in factory output and an increase in the trade deficit during May that were disclosed earlier Tuesday served as a reminder that the recovery is still fragile and has yet to spread to all parts of the economy.
The IMF said it expects the U.K. economy to expand 0.9% this year, up from a prediction of 0.6% in April.