June 26 (Bloomberg) -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said that much of the current global economic crisis is psychological and that international organizations and some media are fueling the pessimism that is driving the recession.

Bodies such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that have forecast deep contractions in economic growth this year are causing “a disaster,” he said at a press conference in Rome. The OECD said on June 24 that Italy’s economy will shrink 5.5 percent this year.

“We must really get all these people that are speaking about things their research departments say may happen but that are destroying the confidence of citizens in Europe and the world, to shut up,” he said.

Berlusconi also said that much of the press was adding to the pessimism with reports on the crisis and that companies should stop advertising in media that was running negative economic news.

He said the main cause of the crisis was fear and urged Italians not to cut their spending, saying that much of the crisis was psychological, and that they should continue to spend at levels similar to before economic growth began its decline.

To contact the reporters on this story: Lorenzo Totaro in Rome at ltotaro@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 26, 2009 13:20 EDT