Global economic growth broadly remained modest although growth trends varied among major advanced economies and across the various regional groupings.
Following a weaker than expected growth in the first half of 2014, growth momentum in some advanced economies firmed up in the second half year, supported by
improved sentiments, stability in the financial markets and accommodative policies.
In particular, growth was stronger than expected in the United States, while economic performance in other major economies fell short of expectations. The improved growth conditions in the US and UK were driven largely by strong demand. However, economic activity contracted in the Euro Area, Japan and China due to weak investments.
Looking ahead, the IMF World Economic Outlook (WEO) January 2015 update has projected global growth to pick up from 3.3 per cent in 2014 to 3.5 per cent in 2015 and further to 3.7 per cent in 2016. The 2015 projection is however lower than the earlier forecast of 3.8 per cent in the October 2014 WEO.
The downward revision was due to gains from lower oil prices which more than offset weak non-oil and oil-related investments in major advanced economies.
