The International Monetary Fund has downgraded its economic outlook for Canada, saying the economy will grow just 2.2% in 2014 and 2.4% in 2015.
It’s somewhat gloomier outlook puts it in line with the Bank of Canada, which has said the slow start to the year because of a bitter winter and weakness in China will mean less economic activity in Canada.
The Canadian dollar fell on the news, trading 0.19 of a cent lower at 93.02 cents U.S. on Thursday afternoon.
The IMF also forecasts slower growth in the rest of the world, saying the world economy will grow at 3.4% in 2014, picking up to 4% in 2015. That’s less than the 3.7% it had anticipated for this year.
The cold winter meant the U.S. economy slipped backwards, leading the IMF to downgrade its annual forecast for the U.S. to 1.7% in 2014.
The stall in the U.S. economy earlier this year, and reduced demand from China also are cutting into global growth, the IMF said.
Despite the downgrade, Canada is second among the G7 for the strength of its outlook.
The surprise leader is Britain, which has pulled ahead in both wage growth and employment in the last few months and seen an uptick in inflation. The IMF outlook for the U.K. was revised upwards to 3.2% from 2.8% growth.
The IMF underscored that although the global economy recovery is proceeding, trouble spots such as in the Ukraine and the Middle East are a downside risk, especially if tensions there affect oil and natural gas prices.
It downgraded its outlook for Russia, which is expected to grow just 0.2%.
