The International Monetary Fund estimated Tuesday that the US economy will pick up only modestly in 2016 after a mild gain this year, thanks to low energy prices and an improving housing market.

The world's largest economy, which grew 2.4 percent in 2014, was expected to expand at an annual rate of 2.6 percent in 2015 and 2.8 percent in 2016, the IMF said in its new World Economic Outlook.