The emergence of protectionist forces could undermine a modest brightening of the global growth outlook and is putting severe strain on the post-World War II economic order, the International Monetary Fund said.
The IMF raised its forecast for global growth to 3.5 percent this year, up 0.1 percentage point from January, the Washington-based fund said in the latest update to its World Economic Outlook. Expansion will pick up to 3.6 percent in 2018, unchanged from the projection three months ago. The upgrade offers a glimmer of optimism following a trend in recent years of the fund downgrading its growth forecasts.
The pickup is being fueled by “buoyant” financial markets and a long-awaited cyclical recovery in manufacturing and trade, the IMF said. Still, global growth remains subdued compared with past decades, and the risk of “trade warfare” is still hanging over the world economy, IMF chief economist Maurice Obstfeld warned.
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