Brussels, 29/08/2001 (Agence Europe) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered its forecast for growth in the world and in the euro zone, it was reported on Wednesday in the Italian press on the subject of a report by the IMF ("World Economic Outlook") to be published in September. In the euro zone, the IMF predicts growth of 2% in 2001 and 2.4% in 2002, against 2.4% and 2.8% respectively, according to estimates published in the spring. The IMF puts forwards world growth rates of +2.8% in 2001 and +3.6% in 2002. This, respectively, represents 0.4 and 0.3 growth points less than the last forecasts. The most critical situation is that of Japan with forecasts three times below the spring predictions, at +0.2% for 2001 instead of +0.6%. For next year, the Nippon economy will have to make do with growth of 0.5% as opposed to 1.5% previously estimated. The deterioration in the rate of economic activity in Europe could be due to the "sudden fall in domestic demand, mainly in Germany", says the IMF, cited by Corriere della sera. In its report, the IMF calls on the ECB to cut interest rates because of the slowdown in economic growth in Europe and in the world.