By Christine Lagarde - As G20 leaders gather in Argentina, the global economy faces a critical juncture. We have had a good stretch of solid growth by historical standards, but now we are facing a period where significant risks are materializing and darker clouds are looming.
While the world economy continues to show broad-based momentum, a new report released on Tuesday by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is warning that there may be choppy seas ahead, caused by increasing protectionism or tit-for-tat trade wars.
Venezuela’s triple-digit annual inflation rate is set to jump to more than 2,300% in 2018, the highest estimate for any country tracked by the International Monetary Fund.
The latest IMF World Economic Outlook report anticipates that Argentina’s economic contraction will amount to 1.8% this year, fiercer than the IMF’s last forecast of a 1% decline. Inflation, meanwhile, will hover at around 40%, above government estimates, the Fund said.
The International Monetary Fund cut its global economic growth forecasts for the third time this year, warning of weaker growth in core Euro zone countries, Japan and big emerging markets like Brazil.
Uruguay growth estimate has been downed for 2012 while prices will be higher, according to the latest IMF World Economic Outlook released on Tuesday. The economy is set to grow 3.5% down from 4.2% while prices will climb to 7.4% compared to the 6.5% estimate of the previous WEO last September.
Latin American growth this year should stay under the 4% estimated previously at 3.6% since the region is susceptible to the slowing down of the world’s economy and increasing risks of the financial crisis on the Euro zone, according to the IMF World Economic Outlook released Tuesday.
The global economic recovery is slowing, with world growth projected at 4% in both 2011 and 2012, down from over 5% in 2010, the IMF said in its latest forecast. And even this lowered projection counts on a lot going well.
The IMF cut its growth forecast for the 17-nation Euro zone by nearly half a percentage point to 1.6% in 2011 and even weaker conditions are seen for next year with growth of just 1.1%. Currently the single currency region is scarcely growing at a 0.25% annual rate.
The IMF has slashed its growth forecasts for the United States and said the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank must be ready to ease policy.