According to forecasts from the main economic research institutes, the global economy is likely to witness a modest slowdown in growth in 2007. However, at present, there are no signs of a more serious downturn in global momentum.

The Institute for the World Economy (IfW) predicts global economic growth of 4.4% in the coming year, although it expects to see a slight downturn in the United States, which has been one of the main engines driving the global economy in recent years.

The same is true of Germany. The institute believes growth in 2007 will be limited to 1.3%. The principal factor affecting prospects for growth will be the higher level of value-added tax, which is set to rise by three percentage points.

Taking Europe as a whole, the economic slowdown is expected to be rather less pronounced. The experts of the institute predict an annual average increase of 2.0%, with a good chance of inflation falling to 2.1% given the prospect of continuing stable energy prices.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects growth in the U.S. to reach 2.5%. Tighter monetary policy and a weaker realty market will act as a decelerating force on further growth.

Meanwhile, the Asian economies remain strong, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) believes this trend will continue with 7.1% growth in 2007 on the back of an expected 7.7% in 2006.