FRANKFURT (AFP) - The German central bank, or Bundesbank, upgraded Friday its growth forecasts for this year and next year, saying activity in Europe's biggest economy was being supported by both domestic and foreign demand.

The Bundesbank said in a statement it was expecting gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 1.7 per cent in 2015, by 1.8 per cent in 2016 and 1.5 per cent in 2017. Previously, the central bank had been pencilling in growth of 1.0 per cent for this year and 1.6 pe rcent for next year.