IMF to lower world growth forecast: report

08 Sep, 2011

The International Monetary Fund has lowered its forecast for world growth this year, the Italian press agency ANSA reported on Wednesday citing a draft IMF document. The Washington-based IMF now forecasts world growth of 4.0 percent this year and 4.2 percent in 2012, ANSA reported. The fund is set to publish its next official forecast on September 20.
In its last official forecast released in June, the IMF said the world economy would grow by 4.3 percent in 2011 and 4.5 percent in 2012. In late August, an earlier preliminary IMF report disclosed by ANSA had reduced the forecast to 4.2 percent global growth this year and 4.3 percent in 2012. According to ANSA, the latest revised figures are mainly based on slower activity in the eurozone whose output forecast was lowered to 1.7 percent growth in 2011 and 1.3 percent in 2012.
The official IMF forecast in June was 2.0 percent growth for the eurozone in 2011 and 1.7 percent for 2012. For emerging economies, the IMF growth forecast has been reduced to 6.5 percent this year and 6.2 percent in 2012. The official forecast in June for emerging countries was 6.6 percent for 2011 and 6.4 percent for 2012.

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