Malaysia is not facing an economic crisis nor a technical recession, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said today.

This is because Malaysia was not the only country that is experiencing economic challenges as other countries are also facing these challenges, he said.

“This trend proves that we are not alone in facing the global economic challenges. Other countries too are affected by the current economic uncertainties,” he said.

For 2016, the global economy is expected to be more challenging. The latest data by the International Monetary Fund indicates that the global economy will grow at a slower pace from 3.6 percent to 3.4 percent.

World trade is anticipated to moderate from 4.1 percent 3.4 percent. This is on account of several economies such as South Africa, the United States, Brazil and China which are also expected to expand as a slower pace.

“Considering the current economic scenario, the government has made a decision to revise the gross domestic product (GDP) growth projection for 2016 to between 4.0 percent to 4.5 percent and assuming the Brent crude oil price at US$30 to US$35 per barrel,” he said.

He further said the global crude oil prices continued to plummet to US$30 per barrel. As of yesterday, the price of Dated Brent crude oil dropped to US$31 a barrel, a reduction of 35 percent compared with the assumption of US$48 during the tabling of Budget 2016.

- Bernama