Almost everyone who monitors the global economy was expecting the International Monetary Fund to downgrade its two thousand fifteen growth forecast. That happened, with the IMF now predicting that the current year will be associated with the lowest level of global economic expansion since the recession year of two thousand and nine.
The IMF now projects that current year growth will end up at three point one percent. That’s down from what was being forecast back in July, when the forecast called for three point three percent world output growth. Last year, the international economy expanded three point four percent. What’s more, as reported by the Associated Press, the IMF believes that risks are tilted to the downside. Weakness in Chinese economic growth has become a threat to the broader global economy.
Emerging market economies collectively are expected to expand four percent this year, which sounds pretty good, but would represent the fifth consecutive decline in growth for these economies. Many emerging economies have been compromised by China’s economic slowdown, which has diminished demand for raw materials and pushed prices for items such as copper and oil lower. The U.S. economy is expected to expand two point six percent this year.
