The global economy is doing better than expected, even as it faces prolonged uncertainty and underwhelming medium-term growth prospects, the head of the IMF said Wednesday.
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The world economy is doing “better than feared, but worse than we need,” International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters in Washington.
She added that the fund now expects global growth to slow “only slightly this year and next”, propped up by better-than-expected conditions in the United States, and among some other advanced, emerging market and developing countries.
Georgieva’s remarks came ahead of next week’s gathering of finance ministers and central bank governors at the World Bank and the IMF in Washington.
Trade is once again likely to dominate the agenda at the annual meetings, following US President Donald Trump’s decision earlier this year to unleash sweeping tariffs against many countries.
“All signs point to a world economy that has generally withstood acute strains from multiple shocks,” Georgieva said, pointing to “improved policy fundamentals”, the adaptability of the private sector, lower-than-expected tariffs, and supportive financial conditions.