WASHINGTON (AP) - The International Monetary Fund slightly lowered its outlook for global economic growth this year and next, mostly because of weaker expansions in Japan, Latin America and Europe.
The IMF said Tuesday the global economy will grow 3.3 percent this year, one-tenth of a point below what it forecast in July. World growth should then pick up to 3.8 percent in 2015, two-tenths of a point lower than its previous estimate, the IMF said in the latest installment of its World Economic Outlook.
The global lending organization has a more optimistic view of the U.S. economy, which it expects will grow 2.2 percent this year, up from an earlier forecast of 1.7 percent. Its forecast for 3.1 percent growth in the U.S. next year was unchanged.
Still, the global lending organization warned that the U.S., Europe and Japan could face years of sluggish growth unless governments take steps to accelerate activity. It acknowledged that it has frequently cut its forecasts in the past several years, and said that was partly because of slower long-run growth in advanced economies.
"The recovery continues, but it is weak and it is uneven," Olivier Blanchard, chief economist at the IMF, said at a press conference.
Blanchard warned that low interest rates have made investors "too complacent" in the advanced economies, particularly about the uncertainty around interest rates in the U.S. That could trigger sharp falls in financial markets, especially if rates rise faster than expected.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew had stronger words for the rest of the world. While the U.S. took decisive steps after the 2008 financial crisis to bolster its economy, other nations haven't been as aggressive to solve their own economic problems, he said Tuesday.