The International Monetary Fund has cut its forecast for global economic growth for both this year and next and warned the recovery is “weak and uneven”.
It is now forecasting 3.3% growth this year, down from its forecast in July of 3.4%. Next year, it predicts 3.8% growth, against an earlier prediction of 4.0%.
The reductions reflect sharp downgrades to the outlook for the eurozone, Russia, the Middle East and Japan.
It remains positive on the UK outlook.
“This number hides very different evolutions. Some countries have recovered or nearly recovered. But others are still struggling,” said IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard.
Mr Blanchard said the pace of recovery was becoming more country specific.
In the UK, it expects the economy to continue to grow strongly, maintaining its July forecasts of 3.2% growth this year and 2.7% next year.
It said activity had “become more balanced”, driven by both consumption and business investment.
