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IMF lowers its estimate of US growth in 2014 to 2 per cent from previous 2.7 per cent forecast

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FILE - In this June 6, 2014 file photo, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde speaks at a press conference at the HM Treasury in London. The International Monetary Fund issues its annual assessment of the U.S. economy on Monday, June 16, 2014. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

WASHINGTON – The International Monetary Fund foresees the U.S. economy growing a modest 2 per cent this year, below its previous estimate of 2.7 per cent.

That would be nearly identical to the economy’s 1.9 per cent growth in 2013.

A brutal winter and a slowing housing recovery caused the economy to shrink during the first three months of 2014, the IMF noted in a report released Monday.

Recent figures suggest that a “meaningful rebound” will propel growth the rest of 2014, the IMF said. Still, that will only partly offset what many analysts think was a contraction of up to 2 per cent last quarter.

The unemployment rate has tumbled to 6.3 per cent from 7.5 per cent in 12 months. But the IMF warns that U.S. wages remain stagnant and the rate of long-term unemployment high.

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