Tribune News Network
Doha
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said India and China will account for half of the global economic growth in 2023, as the multilateral agency retained its growth forecast for Asia’s third-largest economy for 2023-24.
“India remains a bright spot. Together with China, it will account for half of global growth this year, versus just a tenth for the US and euro area combined,” the IMF said in its latest update to the biannual World Economic Outlook.
Growth in India is set to decline from 6.8 percent in 2022 to 6.1 per cent in 2023 before picking up to 6.8 per cent in 2024, the global lender said while citing “resilient domestic demand despite external headwinds”.
The Washington-based multilateral lender raised its global growth forecast for 2023 by 20 basis points to 2.9 percent, holding that the balance of risks remained tilted to the downside, but adverse risks had moderated since its October 2022 report.
“Economic growth proved surprisingly resilient in the third quarter of last year, with strong labour markets, robust household consumption and business investment, and better-than-expected adaptation to the energy crisis in Europe,” IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas wrote in a blog post.
“Elsewhere, China’s sudden re-opening paves the way for a rapid rebound in activity. And global financial conditions have improved as inflation pressures started to abate. This, and a weakening of the US dollar from its November high, provided some modest relief to emerging and developing countries,” he noted.
The US economy grew at a robust 2.9 per cent in the December quarter, surprising analysts. Among major economies, only the United Kingdom is projected to fall into recession in 2023, while growth in Germany and Russia may remain flat.
“On the upside, a stronger boost from pent-up demand in numerous economies or a faster fall in inflation is plausible. On the downside, severe health outcomes in China could hold back the recovery, Russia’s war in Ukraine could escalate, and tighter global financing conditions could worsen debt distress.,” it said.
