In its outloo­k update, bank expect­s Asia to meet growth foreca­sts for this year and nextMANILA: Pakistan’s external conditions have worsened in the past few months with foreign exchange reserves continuing to fall in Q1 of FY2019 and the local currency depreciating by 14% from July to October, stated the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in its update of Asian Development Outlook 2018. The Manila-based institution expected developing Asia to meet its growth forecasts for this year and next on strong domestic demand and easing inflation pressures, though it warned of downside risks from a rising tide of trade protectionism. The bank maintained its 2018 and 2019 economic growth estimates for the region at 6% and 5.8% respectively. The ADB also kept its 6.6% and 6.3% growth projections for China as well as its 7.3% and 7.6% growth expectations for India for both years. Pakistan’s economic growth likely to slow down to 4.8%Early this month, US President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to a 90-day truce on further tariffs as they tried to negotiate a deal.

Source: The Express Tribune December 12, 2018 14:43 UTC