The International Monetary Fund (IMF) portends a continued slowing of global economic growth.
In 2017, world economic growth was peaked at 4%. It decelerated to 3.6% in 2018. For 2019, the IMF forecasts a further slowing to 3.3%, according to its latest projection. The IMF feels that many countries could face challenges on their growth path. It cites “considerable uncertainties in the short term, especially as advanced economy growth rates converge toward their modest long-term potential”.
The latest projection on global growth also marks a downward revision from IMF’s last year prediction of 3.9% for 2019.
Credit tightening measures and normalization of monetary policies by central banks of many nations have apparently led to a subdued outlook for growth this year. Also, trade tensions and emerging market weaknesses have apparently been critical factors behind the expectation. The IMF anticipates a decline in growth for 70% of the global economy in 2019.
As for U.S. macroeconomic growth in particular, the IMF expects it to come in at 2.3%, down from last year’s 2.9%.