TORONTO, Jan. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - The global economy is projected to post its best performance this year since 2014. While geopolitical risks abound, recent economic data point to strengthening growth prospects in most areas of the world. From an economic perspective, the risks could be characterized as unbalanced toward the positive for the first time in many years, given the momentum already underpinning global growth.

Geopolitical risks are substantial. "The incoming Trump Administration's approach to trade policy, which has not yet been fully articulated, represents a significant risk to the global recovery," said Jean-François Perrault, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at Scotiabank. "While it may appear that we are entering a stronger, more sustained phase of the global recovery, it is too early to put on our sunglasses."

Highlights of Scotiabank's Global Outlook include:


    --  Canada: Growth is expected to accelerate over the next two years owing
        to firmer domestic activity, expanding fiscal stimulus and increasing
        foreign demand. Housing and auto sales are expected to provide a mild
        drag on growth.
    --  United States: U.S. growth is expected to accelerate to 2.3% in 2017 and
        2.4% in 2018, driven by robust labour markets, more confident consumers
        and a pick-up in business investment.
    --  Latin America: 2017 will see generally stronger growth, though capital
        flow volatility will remain a challenge.
    --  Capital Markets: Scotiabank Economics forecasts the U.S. Treasury and
        Government of Canada yield curves to flatten over the forecast horizon.
        The Fed is likely to hike rates three times in 2017 and twice more in
        2018, while the Bank of Canada is not expected to raise rates until
        mid-2018.
    --  Currency: US Dollar strength is expected to persist well into 2017.
        While it remains too early to know exactly what the incoming Trump
        administration intends to do - and when it will be able to practically
        implement policies - the expectation is that the administration's
        initiatives may provide additional support to the USD.
    --  United Kingdom: The U.K. economy continues to expand at a trend pace,
        but is likely to slow progressively throughout 2017.
    --  Europe: Eurozone growth is re-accelerating and stronger-than-expected
        external demand could create an upside surprise. Inflation will
        temporarily move closer to 2.0% y/y in Q1, while core inflation is
        forecast to gradually rise.
    --  Asia: China's economic transition continues, with output growth expected
        to be close to 6.5% in 2017. India will be the fastest growing major
        economy, with anticipated growth of 7.5% in 2017. Japanese growth will
        remain low, at 0.7%.

Read Scotiabank's Global Outlook online at:
http://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/0,,3112,00.html

Scotiabank provides clients with in-depth research into the factors shaping the outlook for Canada and the global economy, including macroeconomic developments, currency and capital market trends, commodity and industry performance, as well as monetary, fiscal and public policy issues.

About Scotiabank
 Scotiabank is Canada's international bank and a leading financial services provider in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Central America, and Asia-Pacific. We are dedicated to helping our 23 million customers become better off through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of more than 88,000 employees and assets of $896 billion (as at October 31, 2016), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (TSX: BNS) and New York Exchanges (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.

SOURCE Scotiabank