IMF: World economy is picking up speed
WASHINGTON — The world economy is picking up momentum.
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday raised its forecast for global growth to 3.6 per cent this year and 3.7 per cent in 2018. For both years, the outlook is up 0.1 percentage points from the IMF’s previous forecast in July and would mark the fastest growth since 2010. The world economy grew 3.2 per cent in 2016.
Just a year ago, the global economy was still stuck in a slump in the aftermath of the Great Recession of 2007-2009 and a debt crisis in Europe. China’s economy was slowing steadily, raising fears of economic fallout in the developing countries that supply raw materials to the world’s second biggest economy.
Now the global recovery appears widespread — three-quarters of the globe is enjoying an upswing for the first time this decade — and many of the fears have eased.