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Economists' outlook sunny for Asian economies

Economists' outlook sunny for Asian economies

Mumbai: The latest ICC/Ifo World Economic Survey has an optimistic outlook, predicting strong upwards market progression for the global economy and Asia in particular. "The survey indicates a continuation of the robust world economic upturn in the first half of 2007," said Hans-Werner Sinn, president of the Ifo Institute for Economic Research.

In the Asian region, India is the strongest contender, with most economists expecting the country's rapid growth, averaging about 7% annually over the last four years, to continue, with strong expansion in foreign trade. By comparison, the surveyed economists expect Chinese exports to decline in the first half of 2007, and expect overall growth rates to stay constant.

The economists are also predicting a tempering of price increases at 2.8% (the same as the year before) for the region, leading them to revise their inflation expectations downwards for 2007. Additionally, currency evaluations stayed consistent with the last quarter including for the Japanese yen, which is expected to remain undervalued.  [21/02/07]