The International Montetary Fund is cutting its growth estimate for Canada.

In a report published Tuesday, the international agency said it now projects Canada’s economy will grow 1.5 per cent this year, down four-tenths of a percentage point from its previous estimate in January. The IMF sees Canada’s economy rebounding in 2020, to a growth rate of 1.9 per cent.

The agency also cut its global growth estimate for 2019 to 3.3 per cent from 3.5 per cent, while leaving its 2020 outlook unchanged at 3.6 per cent.

“Although a 3.3 per cent global expansion is still reasonable, the outlook for many countries is very challenging, with considerable uncertainties in the short term, especially as advanced economy growth rates converge toward their modest long-term potential,” the report read.

“While 2019 started out on a weak footing, a pickup is expected in the second half of the year. This pickup is supported by significant policy accommodation by major economies, made possible by the absence of inflationary pressures despite closing output gaps.”

The IMF cited the normalization of monetary policy in advanced economies, escalating U.S.-China trade tensions, disruptions to the German auto sector, tighter China credit policies, and macroeconomic stress in Argentina and Turkey as some of the contributing factors to weakened global expansion in the back half of 2018 and first half of this year.

The agency also pointed to uncertainty around the new NAFTA agreement, which is yet to be ratified, as a downside risk to the global outlook.