AlQa'dah 23, 1433, Oct 9, 2012, SPA - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday downgraded its global economic growth forecast for 2012 and 2013 while warning that growth would be cut further if European and US officials fail to stem their economic crises, DPA reported. The global outlook for 2012 is now 3.3 per cent, down 0.2 percentage points from the international lender's July projection, while its 2013 forecast has been lowered to 3.6 per cent from the 3.9 per cent it had predicted three months ago. "A key issue is whether the global economy is just hitting another bout of turbulence in what was always expected to be a slow and bumpy recovery or whether the current slowdown has a more lasting component," the IMF said in its semi-annual World Economic Outlook. "The answer depends on whether European and US policymakers deal proactively with their major short-term economic challenges," it said. The slowdown in the global economy has been attributed mainly to the lingering eurozone debt crisis and the so-called fiscal cliff in the United States, which faces another recession with spending cuts and tax hikes mandated in January, the IMF said. "Downside risks have increased and are considerable," the IMF said. IMF research suggested "there is a 1-in-6 chance of global growth falling below 2 per cent." The IMF estimated growth for advanced economies at 1.3 per cent in 2012 and at 1.5 per cent in 2013, both down from 1.4 per cent and 1.8 per cent, respectively, in its July forecasts. Advanced economies grew 3 per cent in 2010 and 1.6 per cent in 2011.
