Global outlook improving but China slowdown among risks: IIF

Tokyo

GLOBAL economic growth is set to accelerate slowly this year and in 2016 with advanced nations outpacing emerging economies as the slowdown in Chinese growth impacts the rest of Asia and other emerging regions, the Institute of International Finance (IIF) said in a report at the weekend. India should be a star performer, it noted.

Apart from the China slowdown, the Washington-based IIF, which speaks on behalf of the world's leading banks and other financial institutions, flagged its concern over the prospect of further turbulence in financial markets as the US Federal Reserve moves toward tightening interest rates.

Lower oil prices will make a "material contribution" to overall global growth over the coming two years, said the IIF. It expects oil prices to average "only US$62.5 per barrel this year - down 40 per cent from 2014" and suggests that i…