By David Milliken
LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) – Britain’s economic growth prospects this year received the sharpest downgrade of any major economy in the OECD’s interim forecast update on Thursday following the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, while inflation is set to rise faster too.
The Paris-based international body cut its 2026 forecast for British economic growth by half a percentage point to 0.7%, compared with a 0.4 percentage point downgrade for the euro zone and a 0.3 percentage point upgrade for the United States.
“Planned fiscal tightening and higher energy prices are anticipated to keep growth subdued in the United Kingdom, though the impact will be attenuated by lower policy rates next year,” the OECD said in its report.
Following are further highlights from the report and other context:
(Reporting by David Milliken; editing by Suban Abdulla and Andy Bruce)
