WASHINGTON – International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva has said that she continues to expect weak growth in the global economy, reported German news agency dpa.
"The global economy has shown remarkable resilience," Georgieva stressed during a speech in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, on Thursday.
But despite strong demand for services and progress in the fight against high consumer prices, the global growth rate remained weak.
It was well below 3.8 per cent, which was the annual average from 2000 until just before the coronavirus pandemic.
In July, the IMF had presented a growth forecast of three per cent for 2023 and 2024. Last year, the global economy grew by 3.5 per cent.
Growth prospects were also down in the medium term, but the situation was not uniform.
Things looked better in the US and India, for example, and worse in China.
The world had lost around US$3.7 trillion in economic output since 2020 due to "successive shocks", Georgieva said, referring to the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The losses were very unevenly distributed, with poorest countries hit the hardest.
The IMF will present its new economic outlook on Tuesday during its annual meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco.
The fight against high inflation remained a priority, Georgieva added. – Bernama-dpa, October 6, 2023
