OTTAWA -- The IMF says economies around the world -- including Canada -- are taking longer than expected to recover.
The International Monetary Fund's newest economic outlook predicts global growth will be about three-tenths of a point lower at 3.4 per cent this year than it thought in April.
Canada's economy is now expected to expand by 2.2 per cent this year, one-tenth of a point slower than previously thought and in line with the Bank of Canada's latest forecast.
The IMF says most of the revisions are due to a bad start to the year, particularly in the United States -- the world's largest economy, which shrank by 2.9 per cent.
But even so, the weakness is not all fleeting, the Washington-based international organization says.
It cites weak demand and investment globally as ongoing brakes to economic activity.
The IMF is more optimistic going forward, however. It sees global growth rising to four per cent in 2015 as the U.S. recovery picks up steam, with Canada getting some of those benefits and advancing by 2.4 per cent.
