Barring unforeseen shocks, economists believe the economy should avoid another recession, though growth will be slow.

Gross domestic product growth is seen at an annualized 2.3 percent in the fourth quarter, up strongly from the 1.9 percent forecast in the October poll. The Reuters consensus for the year was raised to 1.8 percent from 1.7 percent.

However, growth expectations for next year were revised down modestly, with a 1.7 percent expansion in GDP anticipated in theChanel Bags first quarter, down from earlier forecasts of 1.8 percent. The consensus for the second quarter slipped to 2.0 percent from 2.1 Coach Outletpercent.

Economists appeared to have greater conviction about their 2012 GDP outlook as the difference between the highest and lowest projection fell to 2.0 percentage points from 3.2, the narrowest in a year.

While recent data suggests the euro zone could already be