Global economy will slow for a third straight year in 2024, World Bank predicts
Associated PressWASHINGTON — Hobbled by high interest rates, persistent inflation, slumping trade and a diminished China, the global economy will slow for a third consecutive year in 2024. “Near-term growth will remain weak, leaving many developing countries — especially the poorest — stuck in a trap: with paralyzing levels of debt and tenuous access to food for nearly one out of every three people,” Indermit Gill, the World Bank’s chief economist, said in a statement. The World Bank now says the global economy grew half a percentage point faster in 2023 than it had predicted back in June and concludes that “the risk of a global recession has receded.’’ Leading the way in 2023 was the United States, which likely registered 2.5% growth last year — 1.4 percentage points faster than the World Bank had expected in mid-year. The World Bank, a 189-country anti-poverty agency, expects U.S. growth to decelerate to 1.6% this year as higher interest rates weaken borrowing and spending. Higher rates are also taming global inflation, which the World Bank foresees sinking from 5.3% last year to 3.7% in 2024 and 3.4% in 2025, though still above pre-pandemic averages.