Global growth to moderate this year

World economic growth will probably moderate this year after the best performance for many years in 2004, softened by rising interest rates and high oil prices, according to a Reuters poll.

The median forecast in the July 4-6 poll of 22 strategists at major banks showed global gross domestic product growing 4.0 percent this year.

According to International Monetary Fund data that would be down on 5.1 percent in 2004 — which was the highest level in three decades — but a little better than the 20-year average of 3.5 percent annual growth.