MANILA, Philippines (AP) - Despite a rise in oil prices, East Asian economies will grow stronger than expected this year due to robust growth in the United States and Japan, higher domestic demand and buoyant regional trade, an Asian Development Bank think tank said Thursday.
The region's economic growth is now estimated at 7.3 percent this year compared with the 6.6 percent forecast contained in the December edition of the Asia Economic Monitor, a report produced by the ADB's Regional Economic Monitoring Unit.