IMF foresees global economy accelerating to 3.5 pct. in ’17

“This improvement comes primarily from good economic news for Europe and Asia, and within Asia, notably for China and Japan”, he said.

Growth forecasts for both years for Germany, France and Spain were raised, while they were trimmed for Italy.

Its 2018 projection of 3.6% growth remains unchanged.

“So, the world economy may be gaining momentum, but we can not be sure that we are out of the woods”.

IMF Economic Counsellor Maurice Obstfeld said the economic data showed “a significant pick up this year relative to last”, and said the trend began in the middle of 2016, after which “everything seems to be going in the right direction … fueling our confidence that this year and next year are going to be substantially better”, he said.

The IMF, whose forecasts exclude war-torn Syria, noted that “continued strife and conflict in many countries in the region also detract from economic activity”. Obstfeld specifically mentioned “the turn towards protectionism, leading to trade warfare”.

Numerous concerns – including rolling back financial regulation, pulling away from the multilateral trading system and restricting immigration – are centerpieces of US President Donald Trump s policy program. “So, it may be that this is a tradeoff of a little more uncertainty before 8 June for less uncertainty later”, Obstfeld told a news conference.

The next forecast will be released in July. Obstfeld says nations that pull out of the multilateral trading system could suffer a “self-inflicted wound”.

“Higher commodity prices have provided some relief to commodity exporters and helped lift global headline inflation and reduce deflationary pressures”, the International Monetary Fund said.

WASHINGTON (AP) – A resilient China, rising commodity prices and sturdy financial markets are offering a sunnier outlook for the global economy and helping dispel the gloom that has lingered since the Great Recession ended.

The IMF’s latest summary of the prospects for global growth, published Tuesday, predicts that the United Kingdom economy will expand in 2017 by 2 percent, up 0.5 percent from its January forecast.

The growth forecast for the U.S. for this year was raised to 2.3% from 2.2%.

“The medium-term outlook, however, continues to be clouded by increasing resource misallocation and growing vulnerabilities associated with the reliance on near-term policy easing and credit-financed investment”.

“Thus, there was a small surplus of about a 0.3 percent of GDP during the first half of the fiscal year.”, Villafuerte said in the brief report.

The outlook also explained how Nigeria will return to growth after an economic decline of 1.5 percent in 2016.

With regard to risks to the country’s growth, the International Monetary Fund said potential spillovers from lower growth in China or higher global financial volatility will be manageable for the Philippines, owing largely to its economic fundamentals, ample policy space and limited trade and financial linkages with the Asian economic powerhouse.

Peiris cited the priorities of the Philippine government including addressing the gaps in infrastructure and human development, particularly in the rural areas.

The IMF recommends “well-targeted initiatives” to help workers adversely affected by free trade and other economic changes to “find jobs in expanding sectors” as well as “social safety nets to smooth the loss of income”, and improved education and training in the longer term.

‘Though highly uncertain, medium-term growth prospects have also diminished in the aftermath of the Brexit vote because of the expected increase in barriers to trade and migration, as well as a potential downsizing of the financial services sector amid possible barriers to cross-border financial activity, ‘ the International Monetary Fund added.