Growth in major economies has increasingly diverged, as the United States and the United Kingdom gained momentum, while the Euro Area and Japan lag behind. In the United States, growth is expected to reach 2.4 percent in 2014 and 3.2 percent in 2015 percent before gradually decelerating to 2.4 percent in 2017. In the United Kingdom, growth reached 2.6 percent in 2014 and is expected to be above potential until 2016. As regards the Euro Area, growth is forecast at 1.1 percent in 2015, and 1.6 percent in 2016-17. In Japan, growth is expected to reach 1.2 percent in 2015 and 1.6 percent in 2016, before decelerating to 1.2 percent in 2017 as a second tax hike is implemented in that year.