Analysts at the International Monetary Fund have upgraded their forecast for the year ahead. They say global growth will still be slower compared to recent decades, but it will be better than they previously expected.

The IMF now projects the world economy will expand by 2.9 percent in 2023. That's up 0.2 percentage points from its earlier projection. The agency points to easing inflation and China's shift away from its zero-Covid policy for the change. The forecast for 2024 is slightly better, at 3.1 percent.

Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, IMF Economic Counsellor and Director of the Research Department, said, "This time around the global economic outlook hasn't worsened. That's good news, but not enough. The road back to a full recovery with sustainable growth, stable prices and progress for all has only started."

The revised projection is still below the average for the two decades up to 2019, which was 3.8 percent.

The IMF says Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues to weigh on economic activity. Another factor is interest rate hikes, which central banks have been using to tame inflation.

The UN financial agency projects the US economy will expand by 1.4 percent this year and just 1 percent next year. The main reason is high interest rates.

For China, it forecasts 5.2-percent growth in 2023 and 4.5 percent the following year.

The IMF expects Japan will see 1.8-percent growth this year due to the continuation of the central bank's monetary easing program. That's 0.2 points up from the previous outlook. The forecast for 2024 is only 0.9 percent. The IMF cites the effects of past economic stimulus measures for that prediction.