Global Economy Resilient Despite COVID, War, And Inflation

The global economy has displayed "remarkable resilience," despite bearing deep scars from the coronavirus pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and rising interest rates, stated the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Paul Wiseman reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Global economic growth is expected to remain well below the 3.8% average of the past two decades, and the world has lost $3.7 trillion in economic output due to successive shocks since 2020.

"While the recovery from the shocks of the past few years continues, it is slow and uneven," said IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in a speech in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, ahead of next week's fall meetings of the IMF and the World Bank (WB).

Global economic growth is expected to remain well below the 3.8% average of the past two decades, and the world has lost $3.7 trillion in economic output due to successive shocks since 2020, according to Georgieva.

The IMF will release its official growth forecasts on Tuesday.

She noted that the U.S. is the only major economy where output has returned to its pre-pandemic levels, while the rest of the world remains below the trend. Sam Metz also reported for AP.

The poorest countries are the hardest hit because they have limited capacity to "buffer their economies and support the most vulnerable," Georgieva added.

China's slow recovery, despite the easing of strict zero-COVID policies late last year, has been a drag on global growth, given it's the world's second-largest economy.

Nevertheless, Georgieva stated that the world economy has unexpectedly proven resilient in the face of higher interest rates implemented by the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks to combat the inflation that surged over the past two years.

She noted that the likelihood of a "soft landing" for the global economy, avoiding a recession while reducing inflationary pressures, is increasing.

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