Global economic growth is gaining strength, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Thursday.

"The global recovery has been marking time, as the adverse effects of higher and more volatile oil prices worked their way through," OECD Chief Economist Jean-Philippe Cotis said in a report posted on the group’s Web site.

The OECD left unchanged its 2004 economic-growth estimates for the eurozone and the U.S. at 1.8% and 4.4%, respectively, but lowered its estimate for Japanese growth to 2.6% in 2004 from 4%, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Although the figures show the Japanese economy contracted for three straight quarters last year, the official 2004 growth rate of 2.6% is the strongest since 1996. And Mr. Cotis said other indicators foreshadow a pickup in activity, particularly improvements in business investment and corporate profitability.

As far as the eurozone is concerned, the consumer sentiment is to gather momentum, despite a rather weak domestic demand in the fourth quarter, Mr. Cotis said.

The U. S. financial markets will be marked by a gradual rise in interest rates, while monetary policy makers in the euro zone and Japan would do well to hold back from interest-rate increases in the near term, Mr. Cotis said at a news conference.