♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Bretton Woods Twins
at 1/26/2009 05:43:00 PM
This is a quick one. Just five days ago, the IMF had this to say about its forthcoming updated forecast for world growth in 2009 (there's also a summary of current financial crisis borrowers):[Dominique Strauss-Kahn] said the IMF would significantly adjust downward its forecast for world growth for 2009 when the 185-member international institution announces a revised assessment of the global economy on January 28. In an update released last November, the IMF had said that advanced economies would see a contraction in output in 2009—the first since World War II—but that growth in major emerging markets would still enable the global economy to advance by 2.2 percent in 2009.Reuters now says a G-20 minister has leaked the IMF estimate at 0.5%:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slashed its forecasts for 2009 global growth to 0.5 percent from 2.2 percent in its last economic outlook in November, a Group of 20 (G20) finance official told Reuters on Monday.Grim stuff, but aren't the expectations for US growth in 2010 optimistic?
The Fund forecast the U.S. economy to contract 1.6 percent this year compared to an earlier forecast of a 0.7 percent fall, said the official, who had access to the forecast. It sees U.S. growth at 1.6 percent in 2010.
The IMF's revised economic outlook forecasts 2010 world growth of 3 percent, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The revised forecasts are to be released in the next few days.
