Asia's economic growth to ease

HONG KONG, March 27 (UPI) -- Asia's fast-growing economies will ease back on the throttle over the next two years, the Asian Development Bank said in Hong Kong Tuesday.

The Manila-based ADB projects that the 43 economies in Asia -- excluding Japan -- will grow 7.6 percent this year and 7.7 percent in 2008, Forbes.com reported. Those rates would be below the 8.3 percent turned in last year.

The bank said its projections imply that "growth will move onto a more sustainable footing and that overheating pressures that surfaced in 2006 will gradually abate."

The bank expects growth in global export volumes to ease to 7.5 percent this year, down from 9.7 percent in 2006 as slowdowns in the United States and Europe reduce demand for Asian manufactures. However, rising consumer spending across Asia will fill the gap, the bank projects.