DOWNING Street has brushed aside the latest economic snapshot from the International Monetary Fund after it downgraded its growth forecast for the UK but upgraded those for many EU countries.

In its latest World Economic Outlook, the international organisation said it now expected Britain's economy to grow by 1.7 per cent, down from April's 2.0 per cent prediction.

It comes in contrast to other major European countries, such as Germany, France and Spain, where growth exceeded expectations, the IMF said.

The Treasury said the report showed why securing the "very best deal" on Brexit with the EU was "vitally important".

A spokesman said: "This forecast underscores exactly why our plans to increase productivity and ensure we get the very best deal with the EU are vitally important.

"Employment is at a record high and the deficit is down by three quarters, showing that the fundamentals of our economy are strong.

"We will continue to deliver greater prosperity and higher living standards for hard working people across the country."

Meanwhile, Downing Street dismissed the IMF assessment as "one of a number of forecasts".

Theresa May’s spokesman said: "Owing to years of hard work and sacrifice by the public, the UK economy is in a strong position. We have employment at a record high and the deficit down by three-quarters.

"We will continue to deliver greater prosperity and higher living standards for hard-working people across the country," he added.

The IMF explained that it had revised down its UK forecast for this year because of “weaker-than-expected activity in the first quarter”.

It noted: "By contrast, growth projections for 2017 have been revised up for many euro area countries, including France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, where growth for the first quarter of 2017 was generally above expectations."

The Washington-based body said its UK growth forecasts for next year remained unchanged at 1.5 per cent.

Maurice Obstfeld, chief economist at the IMF, said the downgraded forecast for 2017 was based purely on economic growth so far this year, rather than any concerns over Brexit in the future.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We stick to our forecasts that Brexit will be a negative to the British economy.

"Our forecasts are right now that it's a mild negative because we have a favourably optimistic view of how the negotiations will go. But if the parties are not reasonable and collaborative, things could be worse," he added.