IMF will again cut global growth forecast amid mediocre growth
WASHINGTON—The International Monetary Fund next week will again lower its estimate on global growth prospects amid an economic recovery “that is brittle, uneven and beset by risks,” Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Thursday.
“Only a modest pickup is foreseen for 2015, as the outlook for potential growth has been pared down,” Ms. Lagarde said in prepared remarks for an event at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. The comments set the tone for an annual gathering of global finance officials next week in Washington, where finance ministers and central bankers will spur one another on to boost growth and tamp down any possible hindrances.
In the IMF’s last forecast in July, the fund expected the global economy to grow by 4% next year, up from 3.4% this year. But high debt, high unemployment, anemic inflation in Europe and mounting risks in the financial sector could spell years of weak growth, she said in her remarks Thursday.
The global economy could get stuck for some time “with a mediocre level of growth” without a more rigorous response from policy makers, the IMF chief said.
