IMF Revises Asia’s Growth Forecasts

According to WSJ, IMF has revised its Asia’s growth forecasts. It expects Asian economies to grow 2.8% for the present year and 5.8% next year. Its earlier forecast in May placed the figures at 1.2% and 4.3%, respectively. However, this forecast is much lower than the average of 6.7% growth achieved in the last 10 years. IMF attributes this to softer demand for Asian products in the international markets.

However, IMF feels that the growth of emerging Asian economies will be much higher than the earlier figures. Emerging Asian economies are expected to register a 5.1% growth this year and 7% next year – much higher than 3.3% and 5.4% projected in May. IMF expects Indian growth to rise from 5.4% in 2009 to 6.4% in 2010.