SINGAPORE, Oct 18 Reuters The International Monetary Fund IMF downgraded its 2023 and 2024 growth forecasts for China, saying its recovery was losing steam and citing weakness in its property sector.

The world39;s secondlargest economy is expected to expand by 5 this year and 4.2 next year, down from 5.2 and 4.5 in the IMF39;s April forecast, the institution said in a regional economic outlook report released on Wednesday.

In China, the recovery is losing steam, with manufacturing purchasing managers39; indexes entering contracting territory from April to August and conditions in the real estate sector weakening further, said the report.

The report projected that a prolonged housing market correction in China would in the nearterm trigger greater financial stress among property developers and larger asset quality deterioration.

The impact of that could cause China39;s gross domestic product GDP to decline by as much as 1.6 percent relative to the baseline by 2025, while world GDP would decline by 0.6 relative to the baseline, it added.

The IMF39;s 2023 outlook for Asia and the Pacific was brighter, with IMF calling it the most dynamic region this year.

The agency maintained its earlier growth projection for the region at 4.6 in 2023 and said economic activity in the region was on track to contribute around twothirds of global growth this year.

Growth in Asia and the Pacific, however, is expected to slow to 4.2 next year. The IMF expects it to further moderate to…