Latin America's economies will contract by 0.3 percent this year, a UN panel forecast Monday, revising down an earlier projection of 0.5-percent growth as emerging markets continue to struggle.

"Among the main factors behind the growth drop are weak internal demand; a global environment marked by low growth of the developed world; an important deceleration in emerging economies, especially China; the strengthening of the dollar and a growing volatility in financial markets; and an important fall in primary goods prices," said the Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean.