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U.N. forecasts slower global growth this year. Thanks, trade war.

Analysts see the largest geopolitical risk coming from U.S.-China trade tensions.

Workers stand in line next to a container ship at a port in Qingdao in China's eastern Shandong province earlier this month.
Workers stand in line next to a container ship at a port in Qingdao in China's eastern Shandong province earlier this month.
AFP/Getty Images

Economists at the United Nations have revised their estimates for global growth for this year to just 2.7%, down 0.3 percentage points from its January prediction.

Its forecasts for global trade fell even more significantly, down to 2.7% — nearly a percentage point lower than previously expected.

Many of the issues analysts expected to be resolved by now have not, including a Brexit deal and instability in Venezuela. But the largest geopolitical risk comes from renewed trade tensions between the United States and China.

Slowing growth threatens U.N. development goals, such as ending extreme poverty.

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U.N. forecasts slower global growth this year. Thanks, trade war.