MILAN, April 4 (Reuters) - The world economy could grow 4.1 percent this year, 0.2 points more than previously forecast, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says in the latest draft of its World Economic Outlook, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
The U.S. economy is now expected to grow 3.0 percent this year, instead of the 2.7 percent forecast in the IMF's January report, according to ANSA and Italian newspapers which published the draft figures on Sunday.
The IMF is due to publish its next World Economic Outlook on April 21, business newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore said.
According to the draft, euro zone growth this year is now forecast to be 0.8 percent, down 0.1 points from January's estimate. In 2011, the figure is seen at 1.5 percent, also down 0.1 points, the reports said.
Europe "is coming out of recession more slowly than other regions," the draft said, because there are "various forces which are putting a brake on recovery," including Greece, Il Sole 24 Ore said in its report on Sunday.
Europe's biggest economy, Germany, is expected to report a 1.2 percent rise in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010 and 1.7 percent in 2011, the draft says according to the reports. Those figures are down 0.3 points and 0.2 points respectively from the January forecast. [ID:nN26232284]:
The following table details forecasts in the draft, reported by Il Sole 24 Ore:
COUNTRY GDP 2010 GDP 2011
WORLD 4.1 4.3
U.S. 3.0 2.4
EURO AREA 0.8 1.5
GERMANY 1.2 1.7
FRANCE 1.5 1.8
ITALY 0.8 1.1
UNITED KINGDOM 1.3 2.5
CHINA 10.0 9.9 (Reporting by Jo Winterbottom; Editing by Mike Nesbit)
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