The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its forecast for global economic growth upwards for this year, buoyed by robust consumer spending and declining energy and commodity prices.
The updated outlook anticipates a 3.1% expansion in global GDP, marking a 0.2 percentage point increase from previous projections made at the end of last year. This pace of growth is expected to be maintained into 2025.
For context, the average annual growth rate of the global economy from 2000 to 2019 stood at 3.8%.
Trade volumes are projected to rise by 3.3% in 2024 and 3.6% in 2025, figures that fall notably short of the historical average of 4.9%. Inflation expectations remain unchanged at 5.8% for the current year.
The forecast for Germany, Europe’s largest economy, suggests a modest GDP increase of 0.5% this year. Meanwhile, the IMF has significantly upgraded its growth expectations for Russia’s economy, with a 1.5 percentage point adjustment upwards to 2.6%.