WASHINGTON (AP) The International Monetary Fund said Wednesday that it sees the dynamics of global growth shifting, with the major economies strengthening while developing countries slow.
The international lending agency released the assessment in advance of the Group of 20 summit of the world's largest economies, set for later this week in Russia. The IMF forecast global growth will accelerate in 2014 compared to this year.
It predicted the U.S. will be the main driver of global growth in the near term, as private demand, housing and labor markets all strengthen. European and Japanese economies recovering from a slump will also contribute.
Europe has just started to pull out of six quarters of contraction with a small expansion in the second quarter. However Japan is expected to slow in 2014.
The forecast is a departure from IMF assessments earlier this year that saw developing economies such as China, India and Brazil as the drivers of the global economy this year.