‘Tepid performance’ so far of UK economy and Trump’s failure to deliver tax cuts lead to downgrade to 1.7% and 2.1% respectivelyThe International Monetary Fund has cut its growth forecast for the UK economy this year after a weak performance in the first three months of 2017. In October 2016, it pencilled in growth of 1.1% for 2017, raising this forecast to 1.5% in January this year and to 2% in April. It contrasted its gloomier outlook for the UK with a rosier forecast for the rest of the EU, with 2017 growth upgrades for the four biggest eurozone countries – Germany, France, Italy and Spain. “The recovery in global growth that we projected in April is on a firmer footing; there is now no question mark over the world economy’s gain in momentum,” Obstfeld said. “From a global growth perspective, the most important downgrade is the United States,” he said.

Source: The Guardian July 24, 2017 04:41 UTC