IMF upgrades 2026 global growth forecast but war and debt threaten outlook

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday forecast global growth in 2026 would slow less than previously expected because of advanced economies' "resilience" in the face of war-fuelled energy prices, but warned low-income countries remained vulnerable to the supply shock. In its World Economic Outlook (WEO) released at the organization's Annual Meetings in Bangkok, the IMF raised its 2026 global growth forecast by 0.1 percentage points to 3.1 percent, compared with 3.5 percent growth in 2025. Uneven outlook for growth. © John Saeki, Janis Latvels, AFP It warned that while many advanced economies have been buoyed by rising investment in artificial intelligence (AI) technology, poorer countries that are not benefiting from that boom face stark choices as they deal with high energy prices caused by the Iran war. "The global economy has been resilient, but that resilience is under strain, with risks tilted to the downside," Silvana Tenreyro, the IMF's chief economist, told journalists in Bangkok. Watch moreCan AI play a role in reducing inequality? With global debt-to-GDP ratios at sky-high levels, including in advanced economies, the IMF has called on governments to cut spending and ...