Kuala lumpur: Emerging markets are anticipated to be the main engines of growth going forward, with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), South Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific seen as bright spots, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF).

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the WEF Chief Economists’ Outlook report released today indicated that one in three chief economists expect strong or very strong growth in these regions. The report highlighted a mixed outlook for China, with 56 percent of chief economists anticipating moderate growth, despite ongoing deflationary pressures. In contrast, growth in advanced economies is expected to remain more stagnant.

The WEF also reported that 72 percent of surveyed chief economists expect the global economy to weaken over the next year. This outlook is shaped by intensifying trade disruptions, rising policy uncertainty, and accelerating technological change. The chief economists strongly agreed that current disruptions are structural rather than cyclical, with the majority anticipating long-term impacts on natural resources and energy, technology and innovation, trade and global value chains, and global economic institutions.

“This marks an important shift. The global economy is not so much weathering isolated shocks as realigning, raising the stakes for new forms of leadership, cooperation, and resilience,” the report stated.

Additionally, the outlook report noted a significant depreciation of the US dollar, which had fallen by more than 10 percent since January, marking the steepest decline since 1973. The survey indicated that 78 percent of the chief economists expect the dollar to weaken further in the coming year. While this provides emerging and developing economies with greater monetary policy flexibility, it also increases the domestic impact of tariffs in the US by raising the cost of imports.