IMF cuts Asia's growth forecast, warns of supply chain risks

• The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slashed this year's economic growth forecast for Asia and warned that a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections, supply chain disruptions and inflation pressures pose downside risks to the outlook. 
• In its regional outlook report, the IMF cut this year's economic growth forecast for Asia to 6.5%, down 1.1 percentage point from its projection made in April, as a spike in Delta variant cases hit consumption and factory output. However, it raised the growth forecast for 2022 to 5.7% from 5.3%. 
• "Although Asia and Pacific remains the fastest growing region in the world, the divergence between Asian advanced economies and developing economies is deepening," the report said. 
• "Risks are tilted to the downside," mainly on uncertainty over the pandemic, supply chain disruptions and potential spillovers from U.S. policy normalization.  

(Source: Reuters)