Far from espousing the gloomy predictions often heard from practitioners of the dismal science, economists view the prospects for the UK's economy in 2007 more positively than in either of the previous two years.

The main risks they see come from abroad. If there are to be problems in the economy this year, they will arise from a US slowdown, turmoil related to sharp swings in the dollar's value or geopolitical crises, the49 economists who answered the Financial Times annual survey thought.