Despite soaring crude oil prices, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects the global economy will grow 4.9 per cent this year, according to a German newspaper report. That would be the highest annual growth figure in 25 years, said the report in Sueddeutsche Zeitung, due to hit streets on Friday. The newspaper cited an as yet unpublished IMF projection for the autumn. Quoting IMF sources, the paper pointed out that the IMF earlier put 2004 growth at 4.0 to 4.6 per cent. For 2005 the IMF predicts 4.4 per cent growth. --SP 2044 Local Time 1744 GMT