SAO PAULO, June 17 (UPI) -- International Monetary Fund Economic Counselor Olivier Blanchard said the U.S. economy had hit a rough patch, but nothing too "worrisome."
The second-quarter economic slowdown was "a bump in the road rather than something more worrisome," Blanchard said as the IMF released its "World Economic Outlook," a forecast of economies among its 187 members.
The IMF said global growth for 2011 was "broadly unchanged" from a previous forecast at 4.3 percent. For 2012, the global economy is expected to grow 4.5 percent.
"Growth in the euro area, powered by more upbeat investment in Germany and France, has been better than expected," the IMF said Friday in a statement.
However, "concerns about the depth of fiscal challenges in some European countries have triggered renewed financial volatility," the IMF said.
The IMF sees Latin America "bolstered by commodity exports" and Asia running into growth that will "decelerate only slightly from the very high levels of last year."
Growth in Europe will be concentrated in the region's emerging economies, while sub-Saharan Africa is "projected to continue strengthening, with domestic demand remaining robust."
In the Middle East and North Africa, be on the alert for "prospects clouded by political and social unrest," the IMF said.
