The International Monetary Fund is upgrading its economic outlook this year for China, India and Europe while modestly lowering expectations for the United States and Japan. But it says worldwide progress against accelerating prices has been slowed by stickier-than-expected inflation for services, from airline travel to restaurant meals. Overall, the IMF said that it still expects the world economy to grow a lackluster 3.2 per cent this year, unchanged from its previous forecast in April and down a tick from 3.3 per cent growth in 2023. From 2000 through 2019, before the pandemic upended economic activity, global growth had averaged 3.8 per cent a year.