In an update to its October 2014 World Economic Outlook, published on Monday, the IMF also lowered by 0.3 percent (to 3.7 percent) its predictions for global growth in 2016.
"The revisions reflect a reassessment of prospects in China, Russia, the euro area, and Japan, as well as weaker activity in some major oil exporters, because of the sharp drop in oil prices," the report said.
On January 16, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said the United States was the only major economy that was likely to continue showing steady growth in 2015, although the overall global economic recovery appeared to be low. The UK is another country that could show a promising recovery in 2015, according to Lagarde.
Since June 2014, the oil prices have fallen by more than 40 percent and currently are below $50 a barrel. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) failed to agree on production curbs during a meeting in November, and prices continued to drop.
