Britain raises official growth forecasts for 2015 and 2016

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain raised its official growth forecasts slightly on Wednesday as Chancellor George Osborne announced an annual budget statement.

Growth for 2015 was forecast to be 2.5 percent, up from a forecast of 2.4 percent made in December, Osborne told parliament.

Growth in 2016 is now expected to reach 2.3 percent compared with 2.2 percent in the December forecasts made by Britain's Office for Budget Responsibility.

Osborne said the OBR believed growth would hold at 2.3 percent in 2017 and 2018 before rising to 2.4 percent in 2019.

The Bank of England has predicted Britain's economy will grow 2.9 percent this year and in 2016, helped by the plunge in oil prices that is expected to boost consumption.

The OBR also forecast the unemployment rate would fall to 5.3 percent this year, down from 5.7 percent in the three months to January, Osborne said.

(Writing by Andy Bruce, editing by William Schomberg)