IMF sees growth in Canada's economy but also plenty to worry about

CTV News Channel: Loonie sees two-month high CTV Chief Financial Commentator Pattie Lovett-Reid says good news including CPI, job rates and inflation data, has led to a higher dollar.

OTTAWA -- The International Monetary Fund says it expects the Canadian economy will continue to expand over the next two years but the it warns that the country shouldn't take anything for granted.

In its latest outlook, the 188-country fund says it expects Canada's economy to expand by 2.3 per cent this year and by 2.4 per cent in 2015.

That is a slight improvement over the IMF's previous prediction about three months ago but still more cautious than the 2.5 per cent growth forecast of many private-sector economists and the Bank of Canada.

The IMF also estimates the global economy will grow by 3.6 per cent in 2014 and by 3.9 per cent in 2015, slightly less than it forecast in January.

Among the Group of Seven industrial countries , the Washington-headquartered IMF places Canada third in growth in both years behind the United States and the United Kingdom.

The IMF says Canada could do better if demand for exports do than expected, but says those hopes are outweighed by competitive forces, lower commodity prices, high household debt and an overpriced housing market.