article_snippet.sent: But global prospects were 'uneven' with growth slipping back in emerging economies.
article_snippet.sent: There would be weaker activity for some major oil exporters, with the Russian economy - also hit by tensions over Ukraine - expected to shrink by 3.8 per cent this year ', worse than the previously estimated 3 per cent.
article_snippet.sent: The IMF said that while risks to global growth 'are now more balanced' than six months ago, risks to global growth 'are now more balanced' than six months ago 'remain tilted to the downside'.
article_snippet.sent: risks to global growth 'are now more balanced' than six months ago included the danger of low inflation in countries saddled by high debt, with the warning coming on the same day that official figures showed inflation falling to minus 0.01 per cent in the UK.
article_snippet.sent: Legacies of both the financial and euro area crises - weak banks and high levels of public, corporate, and household debt - are still weighing on spending and growth in some countries.'
article_snippet.sent: The outlook for the US this year has been slashed by 0.5 per cent to 3.1 per cent while for the eurozone the eurozone has been upgraded from 1.2 per cent to 1.5 per cent, helped by low oil prices and a weaker single currency amid a 1.1 trillion euro (£790 billion) stimulus programme.
article_snippet.sent: The IMF still said conditions were ripe for 'robust US economic performance in 2015' but pointed to risks such as the strong dollar hitting exports and the low oil price suppressing investment in that sector.
article_snippet.sent: The IMF said macroeconomic risks to global growth, such as a recession in the eurozone, had slightly decreased, but that financial and geopolitical risks had increased.
article_snippet.sent: The latter included below-target inflation in countries with high debt and low growth since the financial crisis, with little room to provide more monetary stimulus.
article_snippet.sent: The report said: 'Stagnation and low inflation in advanced economies, notwithstanding the recent upgrade to the near-term growth forecasts for some of advanced economies, could hamper the recovery.'
article_snippet.sent: The report said prospects for some economies were 'clouded' by ageing populations, weak investment and lacklustre productivity growth as well as high debt both among governments and in the private sector.
article_snippet.sent: The report added: 'Inflation and inflation expectations in most advanced economies are below target and are in some cases still declining - a particular concern for countries with crisis legacies of high debt and low growth, and little or no room to ease monetary policy.'
article_snippet.sent: Financial risks could also include a further surge in the US dollar and strong market reactions as 'accommodative' monetary policies supporting recovery - such as low interest rates and money printing - start to be withdrawn.
article_snippet.sent: Geopolitical risks included tensions 'stemming from ongoing events in Ukraine, the Middle East and West Africa' which 'could generate regional and global spillover'.