IMF cuts global growth forecast for 2022 to 4.4%(1)

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released the update of the "World Economic Outlook Report" on the 25th, predicting that the global economy will grow by 4.4% in 2022, down 0.5 percentage points from the forecast in October last year.

The IMF believes that the global economic situation in 2022 is more fragile than previously expected, due to the widespread spread of the mutated new coronavirus Omicron, which has led to the re-introduction of restrictions on the movement of people in various economies around the world, rising energy prices and supply chain disruptions. Inflation levels exceeded expectations and spread to a wider range, etc.

The IMF predicts that if the factors that drag on economic growth gradually disappear in the second half of 2022, the global economy is expected to grow by 3.8% in 2023, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the previous forecast.

Specifically, the economy of the developed economies is expected to grow by 3.9% this year, down 0.6 percentage points from the previous forecast; next year, it will grow by 2.6%, up 0.4 percentage points from the previous forecast. The economy of emerging market and developing economies is expected to grow by 4.8% this year, down 0.3 percentage points from the previous forecast; next year, it will grow by 4.7%, up 0.1 percentage point from the previous forecast.