BEIJING, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund raised its forecast for China's economic growth in 2018, amid an upbeat outlook for the global recovery.

The IMF expects China's GDP growth to stand at 6.6 percent this year, up from the 6.5-percent prediction made last October, according to the latest World Economic Outlook released Monday.

This is the fifth IMF raise of Chinese economic growth prospects in two years.

Growth is expected to moderate gradually in China, the report said.

Global growth forecast for 2018 is also revised upward by 0.2 percentage points to 3.9 percent due to increased global growth momentum and the expected impact of the recently approved U.S. tax policy changes, according to the IMF.

Global investment banks also raised their forecasts for China's economic expansion this year. Nomura raised its forecast by 0.1 percentage point to 6.5 percent while JP Morgan and UBS expect China's economy to expand about 6.7 percent and 6.4 percent this year, respectively.