The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised downwards its baseline forecast, stating that growth is expected to slow from 6.1 per cent last year to 3.2 per cent in 2022.
The projection, which was released Tuesday in its World Economic Outlook (WEO) for July 2022, indicates 0.4 percentage point lower than that of the April 2022 WEO.
Describing the outlook as “gloomy and more Uncertain”, the IMF added that a tentative recovery in 2021 has been followed by increasingly gloomy developments in 2022 as risks began to materialise.
It noted that global output contracted in the second quarter of this year, owing to downturns in China and Russia, while US consumer spending undershot expectations.
“Several shocks have hit a world economy already weakened by the pandemic: higher-than-expected inflation worldwide –especially in the United States and major European economies – triggering tighter financial conditions; a worse-than-anticipated slowdown in China, reflecting COVID- 19 outbreaks and lockdowns; and further negative spillovers from the war in Ukraine.
“The baseline forecast is for growth to slow from 6.1 per cent last year to 3.2 per cent in 2022, 0.4 percentage point lower than in the April 2022 World Economic Outlook,” the IMF stated.
ALSO READ FROMÂ NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
- Atiku Challenges Tinubu To Grant Hour-Long TV Interview
- Tenant Flees After Allegedly Killing Landlord Over Rent In Abuja
The Fund explained that lower growth earlier this year, reduced household purchasing power, and tighter monetary policy drove a downward revision of 1.4 percentage points in the United States.
In China, it noted that further lockdowns and the deepening real estate crisis have led growth to be revised down by 1.1 percentage points, with major global spillovers, and in Europe, significant downgrades reflect spillovers from the war in Ukraine and tighter monetary policy.
“Global inflation has been revised up due to food and energy prices as well as lingering supply-demand imbalances and is anticipated to reach 6.6 per cent in advanced economies and 9.5 per cent in emerging market and developing economies this year – upward revisions of 0.9 and 0.8 percentage point, respectively.
“In 2023, disinflationary monetary policy is expected to bite, with global output growing by just 2.9 per cent. The risks to the outlook are overwhelmingly tilted to the downside,” the IMF further stated.
It observed that “the war in Ukraine could lead to a sudden stop of European gas imports from Russia; inflation could be harder to bring down than anticipated either if labour markets are tighter than expected or inflation expectations unanchor; tighter global financial conditions could induce debt distress in emerging market and developing economies; renewed COVID-19 outbreaks and lockdowns, as well as a further escalation of the property sector crisis, might further suppress Chinese growth; and geopolitical fragmentation could impede global trade and cooperation.
“A plausible alternative scenario in which risks materialise, inflation rises further, and global growth declines to about 2.6 per cent and 2.0 per cent in 2022 and 2023, respectively, would put growth in the bottom 10 per cent of outcomes since 1970.”
With increasing prices continuing to squeeze living standards worldwide, the IMF advised that taming inflation should be the first priority for policymakers.
According to the IMF, tighter monetary policy will inevitably have real economic costs, but the delay will only exacerbate them.
“Targeted fiscal support can help cushion the impact on the most vulnerable, but with government budgets stretched by the pandemic and the need for a disinflationary overall macroeconomic policy stance, such policies will need to be offset by increased taxes or lower government spending.
“Tighter monetary conditions will also affect financial stability, requiring judicious use of macroprudential tools and making reforms to debt resolution frameworks all the more necessary,” the IMF noted.
Also, it advised that policies to address specific impacts on energy and food prices should focus on those most affected without distorting prices, and as the pandemic continues, vaccination rates must rise to guard against future variants.
The IMF averred that mitigating climate change continues to require urgent multilateral action to limit emissions and raise investments to hasten the green transition.
Osun Husband Killer Commits Suicide
IMF projects growth to slow to 3.2% in 2022
Essential Documents You Need When Applying To Study Abroad On ScholarshipÂ
IMF projects growth to slow to 3.2% in 2022
