The International Monetary Fund lowers its expectations for global economic growth in 2024

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The International Monetary Fund lowers its expectations for global economic growth in 2024

Yesterday, 16:09

 

Al-Ghad Press/Follow-up   

The International Monetary Fund maintained its global growth forecast at 3% for the current year and expects growth of 2.9% in 2024, despite indicators of weakness recorded in several major economies, according to data published on Tuesday on the occasion of its annual meetings.

The Fund still expects global growth of 3% in 2023 and slightly less in 2024 at 2.9%, a slight decline (-0.1%) compared to its previous estimates issued in July. But he raised his expectations for the US economy with growth of 2.1% this year and 1.5% in 2024.

 

On the other hand, the second largest global economy will record growth in its gross domestic product by 5% in 2023 and 4.2% next year, according to what the International Monetary Fund’s quarterly forecasts showed, meaning a decline of 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively, compared to July forecasts.

 

As for Germany, it records the most worrying indicators, with a recession that is becoming clearer this year with -0.5% and wider than expected, and then a weak recovery next year with 0.9%, while the International Monetary Fund had expected a better performance in July.

 

The Fund warned of risks to the performance of the global economy, including the real estate crisis in China, continued high inflation rates, and an increase in the debt burden in some countries.

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International Monetary Fund warns of the weakness of US financial policy

Yesterday, 17:44

 

Al-Ghad Press/Follow-up  

The chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, Pierre-Olivier Gorinchas, warned today, Tuesday, of the weakness of American fiscal policy, with the country’s fiscal deficit worsening significantly in the current year 2023 .

 

Gorinchas said in the International Monetary Fund’s October 2023 report on global economic prospects: “What is most worrying is the situation of America, as its fiscal deficit deteriorated significantly in 2023, and America’s fiscal policy should not be procyclical, especially in... This stage of the inflation cycle .”

 

The US budget deficit reached $1.52 trillion in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2023, according to US Treasury Department data, while the deficit in fiscal year 2022 reached $1.38 trillion.

 

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The US Treasury calls for reform of international financial institutions

Today, 09:55

 

Al-Ghad Press / Baghdad

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called on Wednesday for a series of measures that would improve the financial capabilities of international financial institutions while pushing them more explicitly toward financing the fight against climate warming.

 

The American Secretary said during a speech she delivered at the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Ibn Jarir, Morocco, on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund held in Marrakesh, “At the annual meetings in 2022, I called for development in multilateral development banks.” A year later Accordingly, we have made great progress, and reforms are now at the top of the G20 agenda.” 

 

Among these measures, Yellen mentioned the development of the missions of the World Bank, whose mission will be “to end poverty in a livable world,” citing words by World Bank President Ajay Banga during a conference held in Washington at the end of September. 

 

Janet Yellen stressed that "it has become generally accepted that combating climate warming and other global challenges is essential for development." 

 

The American Secretary also called for strengthening the operational capacity of the World Bank, which Banga considered to be "suffering from a defect" despite its "wonderful teams," and for strengthening financial capabilities, stressing that the United States would provide additional funds so that the World Bank would receive an additional 27 billion dollars.

 

 Various measures at the World Bank and regional banks would allow everyone to obtain "at least an additional $200 billion" in the next ten years.

 

At the International Monetary Fund level, Yellen stressed that the United States “will support a distribution of quotas that better reflects the global economy,” a change that cannot happen “unless an agreement is reached on a framework based on common principles.” 

This proposal goes further than what has been proposed so far, which stipulates a redistribution of quotas while providing more money to emerging and developing countries without amending the voting rights of member states.

 

A redistribution based on the size of the contribution to global gross domestic product would provide greater weight to major emerging countries, starting with China and India, a possibility that the United States has not yet supported, to avoid giving China greater power.

 

In general, Janet Yellen called for adopting provisions that allow for the repayment of the debt of distressed countries "so that they can spend their money when they need to respond to emergency situations and then during the recovery period."

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The US Treasury calls for financial reforms in international institutions

2023-10-11 01:24

 

Shafaq News / On Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called for the adoption of a series of measures that would allow improving the financial capabilities of international financial institutions while pushing them more explicitly towards financing the fight against climate warming.

 

This came during a speech delivered by Yellen at the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Ibn Jarir, Morocco, on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund held in Marrakesh.

 

The American Secretary said: “At the annual meetings in 2022, I called for development in the multilateral development banks. A year after that, we have made great progress and reforms are now at the top of the G20 agenda.”

 

Among these measures, Yellen mentioned the development of the World Bank's missions, whose mission will be "to end poverty in a livable world," citing words by World Bank President Ajay Banga during a conference held in Washington at the end of September.

 

Janet Yellen stressed the need to "combat climate warming and other global challenges, as a basis for development," also calling for strengthening the operational capacity of the World Bank, which Banga considered "suffering from a defect" despite its "wonderful teams," and for strengthening financial capabilities.

 

Various measures at the World Bank and regional banks would allow everyone to obtain "at least an additional $200 billion" in the next ten years.

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The International Monetary Fund expects a decline in growth in the Middle East

2023-10-12 07:23

 

 

Shafaq News/ An International Monetary Fund report, published today, Thursday, expected growth in the Middle East and North Africa countries to decline to 2 percent in 2023, compared to 5.6 percent last year, as a result of several factors, including reducing oil production, tightening monetary policies, and difficulties... In several countries.

 

The Fund confirmed in a report on “Growth Prospects in the Middle East and Central Asia” published on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the Fund and the World Bank in Marrakesh, that “the war in Sudan also affects this performance, with its impact on the lives and livelihoods of many, and pushing them to displacement, causing... severe economic turmoil.

 

The report stated, “In the Middle East and North Africa region, economic growth is expected to slow significantly to 2 percent compared to 5.6 percent last year.”

 

However, the report expected that “conditions in the region will improve in 2024, with growth reaching 3.4 percent, with the decline of the contraction in Sudan and the disappearance of other factors inhibiting growth, including the temporary reduction in oil production.”

 

The International Monetary Fund noted that inflation is declining in the region, “but remains high in some countries.”

 

Among the factors listed in the report are “the depreciation of the currency in some countries, restrictions on imports such as Egypt, and recurring drought seasons, which increases inflationary pressures in some countries and raises the inflation rate across the region.”

 

While the inflation rate has returned to pre-Covid pandemic levels in high- and middle-income countries in the region, the report said that “monthly inflation remains above historical rates in Egypt and Tunisia.”

 

He added: “Inflation at an annual rate since July has remained above 10 percent in Morocco and Tunisia, and above 35 percent in Egypt and Pakistan.”

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IMF official: Digitization contributes to enabling financial inclusion

l 6 hours ago

Sky News Arabia - Abu Dhabi

 

/images/v1/2023/10/13/1661484/900/506/1-1661484.jpg

MF: 2.7 billion people do not have access to technology

Deputy Director General of the International Monetary Fund, Antoinette Sayeh, said that digitization is of great importance in enhancing financial inclusion in countries and improving the services provided to peoples, pointing to its advantages that emerged during the Corona pandemic, as countries were able to provide basic social services and provide cash transfers to the poorest people who... They were affected by the closures.

Sayeh's statements came in a session on the sidelines of the meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Marrakesh, entitled “Digital currencies for central banks... Will they become the future of money?”, which was moderated by Lubna Bouza, editor-in-chief of economics at Sky News Arabia.

Sayeh said that many countries are looking to catch up with digitization, in order to benefit from its advantages, but she pointed out the challenge of the large cost of this process, as about 2.7 billion people around the world do not have access to technology in the first place.

“According to our estimates, the cost of digitalization infrastructure in low-income countries may reach 3.5 percent of GDP, which is a high percentage,” said the Deputy Director General of the International Monetary Fund.

She indicated that it is important for countries to work on a set of axes until the infrastructure for the digitization process is completed, noting the necessity of working on structural reforms such as removing trade restrictions, investment in electricity, and strengthening governance, which will pave the way for them to provide digital services, and these are the matters that the IMF is discussing. With officials in countries, according to Sayeh.

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The Monetary Fund and the World Bank call for increasing anti-poverty financing

l 2 hours ago

Sky News Arabia - Abu Dhabi

•  

 

Ajay Banga and Kristalnia Georgieva

On Friday, the President of the World Bank and the Director-General of the International Monetary Fund called for strengthening the financing capacity of the two international institutions to help poor countries combat poverty and climate change.

The invitations from Ajay Banga and Kristalnia Georgieva came during the annual meetings of the two international financial institutions with the participation of finance ministers and central bank governors in Marrakesh, Morocco , which is the first time that these meetings have been held in an African country since 1973.

"We are seeing progress slowing in our fight against poverty," Ajay Banga said in his first major speech since taking office last June.

He added, "We are facing an existential climate crisis, food insecurity, and fragility, while the recovery from the pandemic is in its infancy, and we are all feeling the impact of conflicts that extend beyond the front lines."

“The world faces a storm of intersecting challenges and geopolitical complexities that, taken together, exacerbate inequality,” Banga continued.

Banga, an American of Indian descent, warned of a "growing crisis of confidence" between developing and developed countries.

“The dissatisfaction of the countries of the South is understandable,” he said during a plenary session. “In many ways, they pay the price for the prosperity of others.”

Banga has been pushing for a change in the World Bank since US President Joe Biden chose him to replace David Malpass, who stepped down before the end of his term after doubts about his position on climate change.

Banga went on to say, "Today we have a new vision and mission at the World Bank based on achieving a world free of poverty on a livable planet. However, time is running out."

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The International Monetary Fund is pessimistic about the future of the Iraqi economy

International Monetary Fund building

money and business
   

Economy News - Baghdad
The International Monetary Fund confirmed that restrictions on foreign currency sales in Iraq have hindered growth in the gross domestic product.

 

The Fund said in a report on regional economic developments and prospects, seen by Al-Iqtisad News, that “reductions in oil production are having repercussions on oil-exporting countries, as the growth of the gross oil domestic product has slowed following three rounds of sharp cuts in oil production under the OPEC + agreement.” October 2022, April 2023, and June 2023.”

 

He added that the Gulf countries' non-oil GDP grew, thanks to the strength of the manufacturing industry and the recovery of the services sector, while in Iraq, restrictions on foreign currency sales hinder growth.

 

Although the Iraqi Ministry of Planning announced that inflation reached 3.5%, the International Monetary Fund placed Iraq alongside Algeria, which has an inflation rate of more than 9%, and Iran at 30%.

 

He said, “Inflation is still high in another group of oil exporters, which are Algeria, Iraq, and Iran,” referring to countries with currencies pegged to the US dollar, except for Iraq. Central banks followed in the footsteps of the Federal Reserve, which led to a rise in basic interest rates this year by 100 points. Average basis until August 2023.

 

The International Monetary Fund noted that Iraq's primary non-oil balances declined due to the rise in public sector wages, in addition to the increase in the support rate.

 

The Fund stated that this year, growth is expected to record a noticeable slowdown in oil-exporting countries, reaching 2%, stressing that growth in Iraq will decline due to the reduction in oil production and the impact of rationalizing the use of foreign currency in import-dependent sectors.

 

He pointed out that in 2024, it is expected that the increase in the wage bill in Iraq will lead to a decline in the public financial position.  

 

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Added 10/13/2023 - 2:36 AM