World Bank raises East Asia's 2018 GDP outlook, but wary of trade war

(Apr 12): The World Bank raised its growth forecast for East Asia and the Pacific for 2018, but warned that a possible US-China trade war could harm growth in countries that are part of the Chinese goods supply chain.

The Washington-based lender said in a report on Thursday it expected 2018 growth in the developing East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region, which includes China, to expand 6.3%, a notch up from 6.2% forecast in October.

The 2018 forecast is slower than last year’s 6.6% growth, reflecting a slowdown in China as it continues to rebalance its economy away from investment towards domestic consumption, with policies that focus more on slowing credit expansion and improving the quality of growth, the bank said.

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