The International Monetary Fund has again trimmed it's forecast for global economic growth, according to it's twice yearly World Economic Outlook report.
China is doing slightly better than expected, but a downturn in commodities is hitting other regions particularly hard.
Our U.S. correspondent Priscilla Huff reports:
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The International Monetary Fund's current forecast is that globally, the economy should grow 3.2 %
That's down from their previous forecast.
IMF Chief Economist Maurice Obstfeld is warning,
things could stall out.
CLIP " IMF Chief Economist Maurice Obstfeld
"There is no longer much room for error, but by clearly recognizing the risks they jointly face, and acting together to prepare for those risks, national policy makers can bolster confidence, support growth and guard more effectively against the risk of a derailed recovery."
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But...the IMF is quick to caution
a crisis and a global recession is not necessarily inevitable.
Now in the American presidential race, Republican Donald Trump has warned
if he's not elected, a massive recession is inevitable.
The IMF is a bit more cautious,
saying only that there is a definite risk of
going into doldrums which could be politically perilous,"
Chief Economist Maurice Obstfeld
CLIP " IMF Chief Economist Maurice Obstfeld
"We are not in a state of alarm, but a state of alert. None the less a state of alert demands that we think about policies that might be useful."
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The release of the World Economic Outlook coincides in America with Equal Pay Day.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton thinks paying men and women equally for the same work would be one way to help boost economies.
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"That devalues the work that women do, from minimum wage workers to chief executives and even the best athletes in the world."
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China's position is more complex.
Beijing has published that it's growth rate has slowed from 7 percent to 6.5 %.
But the IMF has revised slightly upward it's forecast for China.
It's a slowdown that may be affected global growth the most.
Punam Chuhan Pole, World Bank Lead Economist
SOUNDBITE (English) Punam Chuhan Pole, World Bank Lead Economist and Report Author:
"Lower commodity prices have worsened current account performance, leading to a widening of current account deficits. In turn, this has put pressure on reserves, and on currencies, so that several Africa countries have seen large depreciation of their currencies.
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Of particular concern is low energy prices - from Russia to Venezuela to Saudi Arabia - crude oil producers are finding it particularly hard to recover.
The IMF considers a global economic growth rate of three percent essentially to be a recession...
With this report,
growth is just a hair above
which is why they are already suggesting ways to help jolt the world economy out of its malaise.
Priscilla Huff, Washington
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