Lots can still go wrong for the world economy: China, whose sub-par rebound has weighed on Asia, is still struggling. Consumer prices avoided declining again by the barest of margins, and economists predict figures this week will show the economy resumed its slowdown in the third quarter. War in the Middle East only adds to risks. Scenarios in which a wider conflict snuffs out growth got some oxygen at the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Morocco last week.
To hear it from Singapore, the global economy is a glass half full. The central bank's latest assessment skips some of the pessimism that's been a feature of communications this year. If this hub for trade and capital is right, then the global expansion will live to fight another day.
It's by no means a sure bet, and the city-state's officials are careful not to declare victory. They do sound less dour than recent prognostications from the OECD, the International Monetary Fund, and European policymakers. “The risk of a sharp downturn, precipitated by financial vulnerabilities, has receded compared to earlier in the year,” the Monetary Authority of Singapore said on Friday.
