WASHINGTON: From the United States to Asia to Europe, a global economy that many had feared was faltering appears poised for a resurgence on the strength of cheap oil and falling interest rates.

That’s the strikingly upbeat view of economists surveyed by The Associated Press, who no longer see Europe’s financial crisis, the US housing market or congressional gridlock as the threats they appeared to be last year.

“The US is doing well, you’re getting a lot of good news in Europe,” said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight. “The global economy is gaining traction.”

US consumers are feeling flusher, thanks to lower gas prices, a burst of hiring and long-awaited if still-modest pay raises for many. Their spending is expected to boost growth this year in the United States and overseas.

The brighter outlook marks a turnaround from last fall, when a looming war in Ukraine, the rise of the Islamic State terror group and a reluctance by the European Central Bank to expand its stimulus efforts led analysts to downgrade their view of the global economy.

Weaker growth in China has also hurt exporting countries from Latin America to Australia that had long benefited from China’s appetite for farm products, copper, iron ore and other commodities. China’s growth decelerated last year to its slowest pace in a quarter-century.

Still, most economists expect China to avoid a further slowdown. Its central bank cut rates last weekend for the second time in three months to try to accelerate growth.

The AP surveyed nearly three dozen corporate, Wall Street and academic economists from Feb 19 to 25.

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2015

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