The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predicted stronger growth in the US, Japan and Germany.

But it said concerns remained over the recovery of the wider eurozone.

It said governments would need to keep special measures in place to boost economic growth.

Overall, the OECD forecast an average annualised growth of 2.4% among the seven biggest economies in the first quarter of this year.

That suggests a marked recovery from the last three months of 2012, when leading economies shrank at an annualised rate of 0.5%.

"The bottom line is that we are moderately more optimistic," the OECD's chief economist Pier Carlo Padoan told the Reuters news agency.

But the organisation paints a picture of contrasting fortunes in Europe, where German growth is expected to be relatively strong, while France and Italy are expected to stay in recession until at least the second quarter of the year.

Italy is expected to perform the worst among the seven economies covered, which do not include China.

The OECD said it was still too soon for governments to consider ending economic stimulus measures that are aimed at encouraging growth.

It welcomed recent policy changes by Japanese authorities aimed at tackling deflation and boosting growth.