Amid omicron and inflation, IMF cuts world growth forecasts

By PAUL WISEMAN
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The International Monetary Fund is downgrading its forecast for the world economy this year. It cites as the cause for the lowered growth expectation the spread of COVID-19’s omicron variant, higher energy prices, an uptick in inflation and financial strains in China. The 190-country lending agency now forecasts that the global economy will expand 4.4% in 2022. That’s down from an estimated 5.9% last year and from the 4.9% the IMF was forecasting for 2022 back in October. The IMF slashed the growth forecast for the United States — world’s largest economy — to 4% from the 5.2% it predicted in October.