World Bank says growth will be 3%

The World Bank, citing stagnation in Europe and Japan and a slowdown in China, downgraded its forecast for the global economy this year. It also reported that world economic growth came in below expectations in 2014.

The bank predicts the world economy will expand 3 percent this year, up from 2.6 percent in 2014.

Last June, World Bank economists had forecast 3.4 percent global economic growth in 2015, and 2.8 percent last year.

“The recovery has been sputtering in the Euro Area and Japan as legacies of the financial crisis linger ... China, meanwhile, is undergoing a carefully managed slowdown,’’ the bank said Tuesday in the first of its twice-yearly Global Economic Prospects reports for 2015.

Plunging oil prices and stronger growth in America are expected to help boost global growth in 2015.

The bank expects the U.S. economy to grow 3.2 percent this year, up from 2.4 percent in 2014.

AP