2nd LD Writethru: IMF downgrades 2015 world economic growth to 3.3 pct

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday downgraded its global economic growth projection to 3.3 percent for 2015 from a forecast of 3.5 percent it made in April.

The weaker-than-expected U.S. economy is the culprit of the lower projection, the fund said in its update of the World Economic Outlook, its biannual flagship report of the world economy.

The U.S. economy's unexpected contraction in the first quarter dragged down growth in neighboring countries such as Canada and Mexico, the Washington-based lender said.

The IMF maintained its projection of the world economic growth in 2016 at 3.8 percent, alerting that the global markets face the risks of financial volatility and asset price fluctuations.

Advanced economy would likely to grow 2.1 percent this year, 0.3 percentage points lower than the IMF's April projection. Emerging economies are estimated to grow 4.2 percent, down 0.1 percent from the previous estimate.

The U.S. economy would slow to 2.5 percent in 2015 and will pick up to 3 percent in 2016. The eurozone economy would grow 1.5 percent and 1.7 percent in 2015 and 2016, respectively. The Japanese economy would grow 0.8 percent and 1.2 percent.

In terms of the Greek debt, the IMF's chief economist, Olivier Blanchard, said at a press conference on Thursday that Greece is a small part of the world economy, and its possible exit from the euro zone should have limited impact on the rest of the world.

"In a world in which there is high debt to start, we have to be ready for episodes like this," he said. Endi