IMF warns of \\\'weak and uneven\\\' global recovery

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. However, the fund said Europe was experiencing a "multispeed recovery" and downgraded its growth forecasts for Germany, France and Italy saying progress was still "slow and tentative" in many countries. "Growth in the euro area nearly stalled this year, even in the core," said Mr Blanchard, according to a news agency.