The economy is expected to gain more speed in the Olympic year, with growth reaching 4.9 percent after it sprinted to a 25-year record of 4.7 percent in 2003, EFG Eurobank said in its economic report. The bank said it has revised its 2004 growth target from a previous 4.2 percent after better-than-expected performance last year. It predicted that inflation, which eased to 2.9 percent year-on-year in January, its first drop below 3 percent in more than two years, was likely to bottom out below 2.5 percent in the second quarter before moving back above 3 percent. An expansionary 2004 budget meant there was a significant risk of overshooting the government’s official deficit target of 1.2 percent of GDP, EFG said, predicting a 2 percent shortfall. EFG said it was less optimistic than the government in its growth forecasts beyond 2004, expecting declining competitiveness of exports, slower growth of consumer spending and an anticipated start of a tightening cycle by the European Central Bank to push growth rates below 4 percent.