IMF Lowers Global Growth Forecast

The International Monetary Fund downgraded the global economic growth forecast Tuesday, the biggest reduction in three years. The world economy is projected to grow 3.5 percent in 2015, a 0.3 decrease from the 3.8 percent estimate in October, the IMF said in its quarterly global outlook. The IMF also scaled back next year's projection to 3.7 percent, compared to October's projection of 4 percent. Though the report marked down cuts for most major economies, the IMF raised the projected growth for the U.S. to 3.6 percent from 3.1 percent for 2015. "New factors supporting growth, lower oil prices, but also depreciation of euro and yen, are more than offset by persistent negative forces, including the lingering legacies of the crisis and lower potential growth in many countries," IMF's chief economist Olivier Blanchard said in a statement.