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1st LD: IMF lowers 2016 global growth forecast amid rising risks

Xinhua, April 12, 2016 Adjust font size:

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday lowered its forecast for global growth in 2016 down to 3.2 percent, saying that the global economy is growing at a sluggish pace that leaves the world economy more exposed to risks.

The world economy is projected to grow 3.2 percent in 2016 and 3.5 percent in 2017, a downward revision of 0.2 percentage point and 0.1 percentage point respectively, compared with the IMF's forecasts in January, according to IMF's flagship report World Economic Outlook (WEO) released on Tuesday.

"The downgraded forecasts reflect a broad-based slowdown across all country groups," said Maurice Obstfeld, chief economist at the IMF, at a press conference on Tuesday.

"The weaker the growth, the greater the chance that the preceding risks, if some materialize, pull the world economy below stalling speed, where demand is insufficient to avoid a low-growth and deflationary equilibrium."

The global lender forecast that the Chinese economy would expand by 6.5 percent in 2016 and 6.2 percent in 2017, both up 0.2 percentage point from its January's predictions.

The U.S. economy is expected to grow 2.4 percent in 2016 and 2.5 percent in 2017, down 0.2 percentage point and 0.1 percentage point respectively from its previous forecasts. Endi