South Korea’s state-run economic think tank forecast Monday that global economic growth could slow to 2.9 percent this year due mainly to the ongoing U.S.-China trade dispute.

The latest estimate represents a sharp decline from 3.8 percent and 3.6 percent in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

The Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) forecast that the world economy could rebound next year by expanding 3.2 percent as growth in most emerging countries could perk up amid a slowdown in major economies.

The think tank forecast that the U.S. economy could grow 2.3 percent this year before slowing to 2 percent in 2020, compared with 2.9 percent in 2018.

The institute also estimated the Chinese economy could expand 6.2 percent this year before slowing to 6 percent in 2020, down from 6.6 percent in 2018.
Source: Yonhap