ADB Trims 2019 Growth Forecast for Developing Asia

Economic growth across a wide swath of Asia is moderating as global trade and investment slows, the Asian Development Bank said Wednesday, trimming its forecasts for China, India and other developing countries in the region.

The ADB in a new report cut its forecast for 2019 economic growth in China by 0.1 percentage point to 6.2%, down from a 6.6% mark last year. India’s growth will likely slow to 6.5% from 6.8% in 2018, the bank said.

The bank also trimmed its growth forecast for developing Asia by 0.3 percentage point to 5.4%. The region’s gross domestic product expanded 5.9% last year. “The revisions reflect gloomier prospects for international trade and evidence of slowing growth in the advanced economies” and in China, India and the larger economies of East Asia and Southeast Asia, the bank said.

The ADB said inflation across the region remains relatively benign, but faces pressure from rising food prices.
Source: Dow Jones