Brussels, 23/08/2005 (Agence Europe) - The next six months will see world growth take off again, despite pessimistic evaluations of the current situation, according to the results of a survey carried out by the Institute for Economic Research in Munich (Ifo) and the International Chamber Of Commerce (ICC). "This confirms the impression that the slowdown in world economic growth since mid-2004 is a temporary disturbance and not the beginning of a decline in worldwide economic activity", says Hans-Werner Sinn, Ifo President. This improvement, however, is not as marked in Western Europe as it is in other regions of the world, particularly North America. The economic climate indicator for the euro zone remained unchanged, but did alter slightly in Sweden and Switzerland, and more sharply in the United Kingdom.
World inflation is unlikely to suffer from the increase in oil prices, and the consumer price index could see an increase of 2.9%, a rate identical to the one for 2004. In monetary terms, the study envisages an increase in interest rates only in the United States and certain Asian countries, whereas rates are set to remain stable in the euro zone in the short term and continue to fall in the United Kingdom.