Global economic growth will slow to a 4.3 percent pace this year and regain momentum in 2006, although oil prices are a growing risk to the outlook, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday. In its twice-annual economic report card, the IMF said the global economy was returning to a slower and more sustainable pace after averaging a torrid 6 percent in late 2003 and early 2004 -- the fastest clip in three decades. The IMF World Economic Outlook said a recovery in the euro area and Japan, which have been economic laggards in recent years, coupled with still-buoyant activity in emerging Asian countries, should nudge growth up to 4.4 percent in 2006. "The expansion will continue to be underpinned by accommodative macroeconomic policies, albeit to a lesser extent than in 2004," the IMF said. The lender said the global expansion was becoming more uneven, with growth still reliant on the United States and China in the face of a disappointing performance by Europe and Japan. IMF chief economist Raghuram Rajan told a news briefing Japan's economy was still "moody" but that with better economic fundamentals, growth could pick up to 1.9 percent next year. --More 2322 Local Time 2022 GMT
