Czech FinMin ups GDP growth fcast, sees rate rise

...interest rates were expected to rise slightly from the second half of the year as inflation creeps higher.

Gross domestic product growth is now predicted to be 5.3 percent against a previous forecast of 5.0 percent, the ministry said in a quarterly update of its economic outlook.

The forecast, which the government uses to draft the budget, saw the economy slowing further to 4.9 percent in 2008 after expanding at a record annual clip of 6.1 percent in both 2006 and 2005.