FRANKFURT, April 2, 2008 (AFP) - The International Monetary Fund has cut its 2008 global growth forecast to 3.7 percent from 4.1 percent previously, a press report said Wednesday.

The IMF's new estimate is to be unveiled next week, the Financial Times Deutschland reported, without saying where it got the information.

According to press reports on Tuesday, the IMF cut its forecast for economic growth in the United States this year to 0.5 percent from 1.5 percent owing to the ongoing financial market crisis and weak housing market.

The fund also cut its growth forecast for Germany to 1.2 percent from 1.5 percent, the daily Die Zeit reported.