China’s ‘worse-than-anticipated’ economic slowdown at core of IMF cut to 2022 global growth forecast

China’s economy will grow by 3.3 per cent, down from the 4.4 per cent forecast in April, the IMF says in its ‘World Economic Outlook’

Growth in the United States is predicted to reach 2.3 per cent this year, below the 3.7 per cent figure estimated three months ago

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The IMF has slashed China’s economic growth forecast to 3.3 per cent, down from the 4.4 per cent forecast in April. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:00pm, 26 Jul 2022

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday lowered its 2022 global growth forecast and that of many of the world’s biggest economies, including China, largely because of lockdowns in major Chinese cities over the past three months.

The Washington-based institution, whose periodic gross domestic product (GDP) forecasts are widely seen as benchmarks, expects the global economy to grow by 3.2 per cent this year, down from 3.6 per cent in its previous outlook in April.

China’s economy will grow by 3.3 per cent, down from the 4.4 per cent forecast in April, the IMF said in its “World Economic Outlook”. China has set a target of “around 5.5 per cent” growth this year.

That would represent a fall from the 8.1 per cent growth China achieved last year, but higher than the revised 2.2 per cent growth in 2020.

Growth in the United States was forecast to reach 2.3 per cent this year, down from 3.7 per cent predicted three months ago, according to the outlook.

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