The fund now expects global growth to rise to 3.4 percent in 2017 and 3.6 percent in 2018, up from 3.1 percent in 2016. But global growth began to gain momentum in the second half of 2016 as both large emerging markets and low-income economies gathered strength. In another scenario, Trump’s administration could introduce tariffs on imported goods, or even trigger a global trade war. The fund forecast that growth would fall to 1.7 percent in 2017 from 2.2 percent in 2016. But the IMF stressed that both countries now need investment in infrastructure and worker skills to sustain growth into the future.

Source: Washington Post January 16, 2017 17:23 UTC