April 2024 World Economic Outlook Press Briefing
Pierre‑Olivier Gourinchas, Director, IMF Research Department
Source: https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2024/04/16/tr041624-transcript-of-april-2024-weo-press-briefing
GLOSSARY
SCRIPT (548 words)
Good morning, everyone. The global economy continues to display remarkable resilience with growth holding steady and inflation declining, but many challenges still lie ahead. Global growth was 3.2 percent in 2023 and is expected to remain at that level both in 2024 and 2025. This represents a 0.3 percentage point upgrade from our October projections for 2024, with stronger activity than expected in the U.S., China, and other large emerging markets, but weaker activity in the Euro Area.
Inflation continues to come down. Median inflation will decline from 4 percent at the end of last year to 2.8 percent by the end of this year and 2.4 percent at the end of 2025, and most indicators continue to point to a soft landing.
A resilient growth and rapid disinflation are consistent with favorable supply developments, including the fading of energy price shocks and a striking rebound in labor supply, supported by strong immigration in many advanced economies.
We also project less economic scarring from the crisis of the past 4 years, although estimates vary across countries. The U.S. economy has already surged past its pre‑pandemic trend, but we now estimate there will be more scarring for low‑income developing countries, many of which are still struggling to turn the page from the pandemic and cost‑of‑living crisis.
Risks are now broadly balanced. On the downside, new price spikes from geopolitical tensions, persistent core inflation, or a disruptive turn towards a fiscal adjustment could slow activity. On the upside, faster disinflation or timely structural reforms that boost productivity could support activity. Insufficient action on the fiscal front could also stimulate growth, although this could force a more costly adjustment later on.
Inflation trends are encouraging, but we are not there yet. Somewhat worryingly, progress towards inflation targets has stalled since the beginning of the year in some countries. This could be a temporary setback, but there are reasons to remain vigilant. Oil prices have been rising in part due to geopolitical tensions and services inflation remains stubbornly high in many countries. Further trade restrictions could also push up goods inflation. Bringing inflation back to target should remain the priority. There are stark divergences also between countries that call for careful calibration of monetary policy. The strong recent performance of the United States reflects robust productivity growth and growth in labor supply, but also strong demand pressures that could add to inflation. This calls for a cautious and gradual approach to easing by the Federal Reserve.
By contrast, growth in the Euro Area will rebound this year but from very low levels. Unlike in the United States, there is little evidence of a hot economy, and the European Central Bank will need to carefully calibrate the pivot towards monetary easing.
China’s economy remains affected by the downturn in its property sector. Domestic demand will remain lackluster unless strong measures address the root cause and monetary policy can afford to be more accommodative.
Going forward, policymakers should prioritize measures that help preserve or even enhance the resilience of the global economy. A key priority is to rebuild fiscal buffers, especially in an environment with high real interest rates, modest growth, and elevated debts. Unfortunately planned fiscal adjustments are often insufficient and could be derailed further given the record number of elections this year.