Economy
THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised slightly downward its global growth projections, expecting a 3.3-percent expansion in 2020, but said that risk factors are less tilted toward the downside.
Political protests in numerous countries, the recent tensions between the U.S. and Iran and the trade war between Washington and Beijing, all remain downside factors that can weigh on growth, along with weather-related disasters, including the Australian bushfires.
“The easing of monetary policy in key economies helped boost global growth in 2019 and likely will continue to have carry-over effects on economic recovery.
“The manufacturing sector, in particular, was facing pessimistic sentiment going into 2020,’’ the IMF said while noting generally positive consumer spending trends.
Global growth is projected to increase to 3.3 percent in 2020, from about 2.9 percent in 2019 and edge up to 3.4 percent in 2021.
This marks a 0.1 percentage point reduction for this year and lowers the forecast by 0.2 percentage points for 2021.
The IMF noted underperformance in several emerging markets, including India.
The report says China’s growth is starting to slow.
In the U.S., growth is expected to moderate from an estimated 2.3 percent last year to 2 percent this year and 1.7 in 2021.
Japan too would have growth moderate from an estimated 1 percent in 2019 to 0.7 percent in 2020.
The euro-zone is likely to move up from 1.2 percent in 2019 to 1.3 percent in 2020, though this marks a small 0.1-percentage-point downward revision. (dpa/NAN)
– Jan. 20, 2020 @ 15:09 GMT |
Tags: but sees lower risks IMF revises down global growth outlook
