Global growth likely be lower in '08: IMF

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WASHINGTON, Nov 30 (AFP): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday it would likely revise lower its 2008 estimate of world economic growth due to financial market turmoil and surging oil prices.
"Global growth in 2008 will likely be lower than we anticipated in the World Economic Outlook," IMF spokesman Masood Ahmed said at a news conference.
In its twice-yearly World Economic Outlook (WEO), published in October, the IMF predicted the world economy would grow by 4.8 per cent next year.
"Recent developments in both oil and financial markets have further dampened the global outlook since the release of the World Economic Outlook in October because some of the downside risks that we had identified then have materialised," he said.
The revisions will be made in December and announced in early January, he said.
The forecasts for 2007 will likely be revised upward, he suggested, citing strong performances in several emerging-market countries in the third quarter. The latest WEO forecast global growth at a robust 5.2 per cent pace.
Asked about the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy and the possibility of a new interest rate reduction at the next meeting of Fed policymakers, on December 11, the IMF spokesman hinted that such a move was unnecessary.