IMF Warns of Tough Year Ahead for World Economy Citing Slowdown in US, EU, China – Economics Bitcoin News

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that 2023 will be a tougher year for most of the global economy as the economies of the US, EU and China are all slowing at the same time. “We expect a third of the world economy to be in recession… Even in countries that are not in recession, it would feel like a recession for hundreds of millions of people,” said IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva.

IMF economic forecasts for 2023

Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), shared the IMF’s forecasts for the US, EU, China and the global economy in an interview with CBS that aired on Sunday. He elaborated:

This is what we will see in 2023. For most of the world economy, this will be a difficult year, more difficult than the year we are leaving behind. Why? Because the three major economies, the US, the EU and China, are all slowing at the same time.

“The US is the most resilient. The US can avoid a recession. We see that the labor market is quite strong. However, this is a mixed blessing, because if the labor market is very strong, the Fed may have to keep interest rates tighter for longer to reduce inflation,” the IMF chief continued.

“The war in Ukraine affected the EU very seriously. Half of the European Union will be in recession next year. China will continue to slow down this year,” he added.

In addition, the IMF boss said:

Next year will be a difficult year for China. And this is reflected in negative trends worldwide.

“When we look at emerging markets in emerging economies, the picture is even bleaker there. Why? Because, on top of everything else, they suffer from high interest rates and a strengthening dollar. For those economies where it is high, this is a disaster, he warned.

Regarding China in particular, Georgieva described: “In the short term, bad news. China has slowed down dramatically in 2022 due to this strict zero covid policy. For the first time in 40 years, China’s growth in 2022 is likely to be global or slower. This has never happened before.”

Emphasizing that he hopes the U.S. economy “is not going to slide into recession despite all these risks,” the IMF managing director said:

We expect a third of the world economy to be in recession… Even in countries that are not in recession, it would feel like a recession to hundreds of millions of people.

Georgieva added that “the world has changed dramatically,” noting that “it’s a more shock-prone world.” He explained that these shocks include Covid, the war between Russia and Ukraine and the cost of living crisis.

“My message [is] don’t think we’re going back to pre-Covid predictability. More uncertainty, more overlapping crises await us… We need to get our act together and act in this more agile, more cautious way,” he concluded.

What do you think of the International Monetary Fund’s forecasts? Let us know in the comments section below.

Kevin Helms

Kevin, an Austrian economics student, discovered Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests include Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects, and the intersection of economics and cryptography.