IMF downgrades global economic growth forecast

The International Monetary Fund is downgrading its forecast for global economic growth, saying that falling commodity prices and jumpy financial markets have raised global risks.

The IMF said the world economy will grow 3.1% this year, down from a July forecast of 3.3% and the slowest pace since the recession year 2009.

The report is being released in advance of the IMF-World Bank annual meetings this week in Lima, Peru.

The report predicts the United States will grow 2.6% this year, up from a July forecast of 2.5%.

Emerging market economies, hurt by tumbling raw materials prices, will grow 4%, it said.

The IMF left unchanged its forecasts for growth in the 19 countries that share the euro currency (1.5%) and China (6.8%).