ECONOMY

摘要

Amid increasing threats of trade protectionism and various geopolitical uncertainties, the most recent regional outlooks for Europe and the Western Hemisphere from the International Monetary Fund strike a generally positive tone. This month the Regional Economic Outlook for Europe (with the byline "Managing the Upswing in Uncertain Times") envisages growth to remain strong this year, with 2.6% forecast, following last year's 2.8%, which was propelled by domestic demand, with credit growth finally helping European banks rebuild profitability. For 2019, a slowing to 2.2% is in prospect, as the IMF takes stock of lead indicators starting to ease, but this would still represent an improvement on 2016. Negative risks to the outlook are, of course, included and comprise threats from "a growing tendency toward inward-looking economic policies".