IMF sees 2009 global growth hitting worst level since WWII+

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 Kyodo - The International Monetary Fund said Wednesday it now projects that the global economy will expand by a meager 0.5 percent in 2009, the worst pace of growth since World War II, due to the fallout from the worldwide financial crisis.

The Washington-based lender also cut its outlooks for the growth of the U.S.
and Japanese economies in 2009 to minus 1.6 percent and minus 2.6 percent,
respectively.
The grim projections were revealed in an update to the IMF's biannual World
Economic Outlook, which was released Oct. 8 and updated Nov. 6.
''Despite wide-ranging policy actions, financial strains remain acute, pulling
down the real economy,'' the report said, referring to the global economy.
''A sustained economic recovery will not be possible until the financial
sector's functionality is restored and credit markets are unclogged,'' it said.
The IMF revised sharply downward the 2009 outlook for global economic growth
from an earlier forecast of 2.2 percent. Its latest projections for the U.S.
and Japanese economies compare with its previous growth estimates of minus 0.7
percent and minus 0.2 percent, respectively.
==Kyodo
2009-01-28 23:21:29