World economy has strong heartbeat but with tremors

PARIS, Sept 10, 2006 (AFP) - The IMF, World Bank and G7 finance ministers will say that the world economy has a vibrant heartbeat when they meet next week in Singapore, but tremors are present in the form of slowing US growth and high oil prices.

The International Monetary Fund is expected to give the global economy a glowing bill of health when it meets together with top officials of the World Bank in Singapore on September 19 and 20.

But the tremors on the monitoring screen are becoming increasingly insistent.

However, according to an extract of the report to be published by the IMF and obtained by AFP, the fund is set to raise its forecast for world growth this year to 5.1 percent from 4.9 percent six months previously and to 4.



9 percent next year from 4.7 percent.

This year will the fifth in a row of strong economic expansion.

Asia continues to be the region with the highest rate of growth, led by China where activity, far from slowing down, is expected to be 10 percent this year and again in 2007.

The signals for the United States are also good, even though economists and market experts are watching closely for any sign that the property boom is about to deflate, marking the end of several years of prosperity in the US econo