The International Monetary Fund's latest forecast leaves world economic growth unchanged at 3.5 percent this year and 3.6 percent next year, with upgrades for Japan, China and emerging Asian markets offsetting a downward projection for the United States.
In an update Sunday to the IMF's World Economic Outlook published in April, the Washington-based institution revised its forecast for Japan's growth to 1.3 percent, 0.1 percentage point higher, buoyed by first-quarter growth propelled by personal spending, investment and exports.
The 2017 growth projection for China was revised upward 0.1 point to 6.7 percent and that for five Association of Southeast Asian Nations members — Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam — was raised 0.1 point to 5.1 percent.