IMF: Prolonged high inflation dims outlook for world economy

By PAUL WISEMAN and FATIMA HUSSEIN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The outlook for the world economy this year has dimmed in the face of chronically high inflation, rising interest rates and uncertainties resulting from the collapse of two big American banks. That’s the view of the International Monetary Fund, which has downgraded its outlook for global economic growth. The IMF now envisions growth this year of 2.8%, down from 3.4% in 2022 and from the 2.9% estimate for 2023 it made in its previous forecast in January. The fund said the possibility of a “hard landing,” in which rising interest rates weaken growth so much as to cause a recession, has ”risen sharply,” especially in the world’s wealthiest countries.