ABD cuts growth forecast for Asia
Asia’s growth forecast has been cut by the Asian Development Bank.
The Asian Development Bank (ABD) has slashed its growth predictions for Asia in 2012 and 2013 as the global economic downturn bites.
According to the institution, the region – excluding Japan – will expand by 6.1 per cent this year, after it anticipated in July this figure would be 6.6 per cent.
Inflation forecasts have also been changed by ABD, with this data being revised down to 4.2 per cent from 4.4 per cent.
The bank stated that the sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone and the US "fiscal cliff" pose significant risks to the outlook for Asia.
It said Asian nations need to reduce their dependency on exports to prevent recession and singled out India and China – two of the biggest economies in the region – as the main drivers of this revision.
At close of play this morning, the Hong Kong Hang Seng was steady at 20888.2 points, while at 11:05 BST the Mumbai Stock Exchange Sensitive Index was holding firm at 18871.9 points.
Learn all about CFD trading strategies and the stock market at City Index.