Uruguay sees '07 growth above 4.5 pct

MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) - Uruguay will probably raise its forecast for economic growth in 2007 to above 4.5 percent, Uruguay's economy minister said on Friday.

"We'll probably raise it higher. Today the projection is at 4.5 percent and we're going to adjust it to 4.5 percent," Danilo Astori told the Reuters Latin American Investment Summit in Montevideo.

Astori said the South American country will maintain its primary budget surplus forecast for this year of 4.0 percent of gross domestic product.

Led by the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, Uruguay's economy last year expanded 7 percent, completing its fourth straight year of growth after a crippling economic crisis in 2002.

"The country is on track to sustain high levels of growth, particularly when we look at what's driving the growth: exports and gross domestic investment, which grew 32 percent in 2006 compared to 2005," Astori said.