IMF forecasts 5.5pc GDP growth in 2023

A participant stands near a logo of IMF at the International Monetary Fund - World Bank Annual Meeting 2018 in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, 12 October 2018.Reuters file photo

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that the gross domestic product (GDP) of Bangladesh would grow by 5.5 per cent in the fiscal year 2023 and by 6.5 per cent in the next fiscal.

The global lender came up with the forecast in its latest report – World Economic Outlook: A Rocky Recovery – on Tuesday. 

Earlier this month, the Asian Development Bank forecast at 5.3 per cent growth in the GDP of Bangladesh in the current fiscal while the World Bank foresaw a growth of 5.2 per cent. 

The government, however, set a growth target of 7.5 per cent for the fiscal. 

In its report, the IMF noted that the world economy could achieve a soft landing —with inflation coming down and growth steady— have receded amid stubbornly high inflation and recent financial sector turmoil. 

Although inflation has declined as central banks have raised interest rates and food and energy prices have come down, underlying price pressures are proving sticky, with labor markets tight in a number of economies. 

It also said side effects from the fast rise in policy rates are becoming apparent, as banking sector vulnerabilities have come into focus and fears of contagion have risen across the broader financial sector, including nonbank financial institutions. 

The baseline forecast, which assumes that the recent financial sector stresses are contained, is for global growth to fall from 3.4 percent in 2022 to 2.8 percent in 2023, before rising slowly and settling at 3.0 percent five years out––the lowest medium-term forecast in decades. 

Advanced economies are expected to see an especially pronounced growth slowdown, from 2.7 per cent in 2022 to 1.3 per cent in 2023.