BANGKOK (AP) — The Asian Development Bank has slightly downgraded its growth forecasts in its latest outlook report for the region, citing the fallout from trade tensions, rising debt and the potential impact from tightening of credit in the U.S.
The Manila, Philippines-based ADB said Wednesday that it expects regional economic growth to remain at a robust 6.0 percent in 2018 but to slip to 5.8 percent next year.
It said that financial and trade shocks loom and that if the U.S. economy shows signs of overheating, interest rate hikes could disrupt capital flows, leading to problems with bad loans. Overly high housing prices are another potential problem.
But it said the bigger threat comes from potential damage to supply chains caused by trade conflicts, especially between the U.S. and China.
