THE World Bank on Tuesday trimmed its global growth forecast, saying a confluence of events, from the Ukraine crisis to unusually cold weather in the United States, dampened economic expansion in the first half of the year.

The poverty-fighting institution predicted the world economy would grow 2.8 per cent this year, below its prior forecast of 3.2 per cent made in January, but it expressed confidence activity was already shifting to more solid footing.

In its twice-yearly Global Economic Prospects report, the
World Bank said tensions between Ukraine and Russia hit confidence worldwide.

The bank also cut its growth forecast for the United States to 2.1 per cent from 2.8 per cent to account for the toll taken on growth by the weather at the start of the year.

The US economy contracted for the first time in three years in the first quarter, but it already appears to be rebounding.

"Yes, there has been a big downgrade in 2014," Andrew Burns, the report's lead author, said in an interview. "But that's mainly a reflection of stuff that's already happened."

The World Bank expects growth to quicken later this year as richer economies continue their recovery. Reuters