World Bank predicts 2.7% global economic growth in 2017

Growth acceleration For emerging market and developing economies, the rise in interest rates in the US and the strengthening dollar also led to a "notable tightening of financing conditions" - which means credit that is either more expensive or harder to get. But the Bank still expects growth to accelerate in these countries, partly due to higher commodity prices, such as oil and metals, which many of them export. The Bank's economists also expect the slowdown in two large emerging economies, Brazil and Russia, to come to an end. For the developed economies the Bank forecasts continued weak growth of around 1.8%. That would be slightly better than 2016, but still slow compared to the period before the crisis. Uncertainty about future policies has increased following the British referendum on the European Union and, potentially especially significant for the global economy, Donald Trump's victory in the US Presidential election. The report includes an analysis of why the US matters so much to the rest of the world in terms of extensive trade and financial links. It notes that there is a great deal of uncertainty about just what policies Mr Trump's administration will pursue in office.