The International Monetary
Fund has warned that the global economy is likely to face a definite slowdown
next year because of the global credit squeeze caused by the turmoil in financial
markets, with Eastern Europe particularly vulnerable to a reduction in capital
flows as a result of the global credit squeeze. "With
financial markets around the world now being affected by the fallout from the
US sub-prime mortgage difficulties, a broader economic slowdown cannot be ruled
out," it said. A
lack of liquidity in banking markets "may test the strength of the current
expansion". Even though interest rates had returned to more "neutral"
levels in leading industrialised countries. Tightening
credit, the IMF warned, would strain the expansion of the world''s economy, which
could not be taken as assured, though the state of the global economy remained
durable. (See: IMF warns of long-term effects of global credit market crisis) Earlier
in April, it had raised its world economic growth forecast for 2007 and 2008 to
5.2 per cent, up 0.3 per cent from the 4.9 per cent growth forecast for both years
in its World Economic Outlook (WEO), published in April. The
IMF hiked the growth forecast by 0.3 percentage points on the back of robust growth
in emerging markets, with China poised to become its most powerful growth driver. The
IMF will unveil its revised economic growth estimates for the world''s leading
economies next week, ahead of its annual meeting due to commence from 20 October.
According to reports, the IMF plans to bring down its global growth forecast of
5.2 per cent next year to below 5 per cent. A
sharp slowdown in the US economy is expected to restrain growth next year. The
OECD has already cut growth forecasts for the US and major European after the
current financial market instability.
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