IMF lowers World Growth Forecast from 3.3% to 3.1% for 2015

by

The IMF projection for Global growth for 2015 is projected at 3.1 percent, 0.3 percentage point lower than in 2014, and 0.2 percentage point below the forecasts in the July 2015 World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update. Prospects across the main countries and regions remain uneven. Relative to last year, the recovery in advanced economies is expected to pick up slightly, while activity in emerging market and developing economies is projected to slow for the fifth year in a row, primarily reflecting weaker prospects for some large emerging market economies and oil-exporting countries.

Here is a link to the October, 2015 forecast

The IMF discussed the economic risks and prospects.

Prospects across the main countries and regions remain uneven. Relative to last year, growth in advanced economies is expected to pick up slightly, while it is projected to decline in emerging market and developing economies. With declining commodity prices, depreciating emerging market currencies, and increasing financial market volatility, downside risks to the outlook have risen,
particularly for emerging market and developing economies. Global activity is projected to gather some pace in 2016. In advanced economies, the modest recovery that started in 2014 is projected to strengthen further. In emerging market and developing economies, the outlook is projected to improve: in particular, growth in countries in economic distress in 2015 (including Brazil, Russia, and some countries in Latin America and in the Middle East), while remaining weak or negative, is projected to be higher next year, more than offsetting the expected gradual slowdown in China

The decline in GDP in Russia over the first half of 2015 was somewhat larger than forecast, and the recession in Ukraine was deeper than previously forecast, reflecting the ongoing conflict in the region