IMF to issue downbeat outlook as spectre of stagflation looms

IMF to issue downbeat outlook as spectre of stagflation looms

Weaker global growth, vaccine protectionism and the spectre of 1970s-style inflation haunting large economies. As the International Monetary Fund prepares for its annual gathering this week, the contrast with the spring could not be more stark.

Back in April, at the Washington-based fund’s last virtual bash, there were sharp upgrades for global growth amid a sense of optimism for the road ahead, led by stronger-than-expected recoveries in the US, UK and other advanced economies. Vaccines would pave the way for the swift unlocking of pandemic restrictions, fuelling a rapid recovery from the worst global recession since the 1930s Great Depression.

Since then, the sprint back to economic health has slowed to a hobble, the head of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, warned last week. “We are unable to walk forward properly – it is like walking with stones in our shoes!”