Global economy to contract 0.6% in 2009-IMF aide

Published: 17 Mar 2009 17:56:18 PST

LISBON, March 17 - The International Monetary Fund expects the global economy to contract 0.6 percent this year, according to forecasts provided on Tuesday by an IMF official at a conference in Lisbon.

Teresa Ter-Minassian, an adviser to IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, told reporters the figure was likely to be released shortly by the IMF. It compares with the IMF's last official forecast for the global economy, released in January, which pointed to global growth of 0.5 percent.

The U.S. economy is seen shrinking 2.6 percent this year, compared with a January forecast of a 1.6 percent contraction. The euro zone economy is expected to contract 3.2 percent and Japan's by 5 percent, she said.