Families hurting from high prices, says IMF

Families are hurting from high prices, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, said yesterday, at the ongoing Annual Meetings of the IMF/World Bank in Washington DC.

 

Speaking at the Global Policy Agenda 2024 briefing, the MD said that the global economy was faced with being stuck on the path of slow growth and high debt.

 

Her words, “The global economy has held up well. Inflation has continued to decline. Thanks to the concerted efforts of Central Banks and thanks to the ease of chain supply performance.

 

“But people are not feeling good about the economic prospects of their economies. Everybody I asked, ‘How is your economy, the answer is ‘Good’. How is the mood of your people? The answer is ‘Not so good.’

 

“Families are still hurting from high prices and global growth is anaemic. We expect the global economy to grow by 3.2 per cent this year and slow to 3.1 per cent annual growth in five years. Trade is not more a powerful engine of growth. We live in a more fragile world.

 

“The bottom line is: Global economy is getting stuck in danger of lower growth and high debt path- lower incomes and fewer jobs, lower government incomes and lower resources to support families and lower income to support funding of climate change.”

 

According to the Global Policy Agenda 2024 report which was released yesterday, “The global economy has proven resilient, and a soft landing is within reach. Inflation has moderated thanks to tight monetary policy and fading supply shocks, and growth is expected to remain steady.

 

“But uncertainty remains significant, with risks tilted to the downside; medium-term growth prospects are lackluster; public debt has reached record highs and is expected to approach 100 percent of GDP by 2030; and geoeconomic fragmentation threatens to undo decades of gains from cross-border economic integration.

 

“At the same time, transformative changes—the green transition, demographic shifts, and digitalization, including artificial intelligence—are poised to reshape the global economy, creating challenges but also opportunities.

 

 

“Against this background, the key policy priorities are to secure a soft landing and break from the low growth-high debt path, and address other medium-term challenges. Monetary policy should ensure inflation returns durably to the target, and fiscal policy needs to decisively pivot toward consolidation to rebuild buffers and safeguard debt sustainability.”

 

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