IMF LOWERS GLOBAL GROWTH FORECASTS

The International Monetary Fund lowered its economic forecasts for the United States, China and the global economy on Tuesday, and said uncertainty about the pandemic, inflation, supply disruptions and U.S. monetary tightening posed further risks. The IMF cut its forecast for U.S. growth by 1.2 percentage points to 4 per cent in 2022 after expanding 5.6 per cent in 2021, with growth seen easing further to 2.6 per cent in 2023. The IMF downgraded China’s forecast by 0.8 percentage point to 4.8 per cent in 2022 after 8.1 per cent growth in 2021, with growth to edge higher again to 5.2 per cent in 2023. Global growth this year is projected at 4.4 per cent, 0.5 percentage point lower than previously forecast, mainly because of downgrades for the United States and China, the IMF said.