SINGAPORE, Oct 24 — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Asian economies to grow at five per cent this year — the slowest expansion since the global financial crisis a decade ago — and predicts that the subdued conditions will continue into 2020.

This is a downgrade from the IMF’s 2019 estimate of 5.4 per cent in April. It noted that the outlook has deteriorated noticeably since April amid weaker global trade, owing to the trade war between the United States and China and other headwinds.

In its October 2019 World Economic Outlook report released yesterday, the global body also slashed growth forecasts for several Asian economies, including Singapore, Hong Kong and China, from its April report.

Growth forecasts cut

IMF October growth outlook for 2019 for advanced economies, compared to April estimates