By Tom Burnett CFA
On June 6, 2023, the World Bank released its updated GDP Forecast report for 2023 and 2024. This report updates the January 2023 Forecast report. The Bank now projects World growth of 2.1% this year, down from 3.1% in 2022. The forecast for 2024 is for growth of 2.4%, down from a 2.7% projection in the January report.
U.S. growth is now projected to decline from 2.1% in 2022 to 1.1% in 2023, and 0.8% in 2024. The 2024 projection is down by 0.8% from the January report.
The EU is now projected to grow by only 0.4% this year, following a 3.5% expansion in 2022. The forecast for 2024 is growth of 1.3%, down from an expected 1.6% in the January report.
China is projected to grow its GDP by 5.6% this year, up from a rate of 3.0% last year when it locked down its economy. The forecast for 2024 is plus 4.6% down from a 5.0% projection in January.
World trade volumes are projected to grow by 1.7% this year and 2.8% in 2024, following growth of 6.0% in 2022.
The Bank blames higher interest rates and inflation as the main causes of reduced growth expectations.
Tom Burnett CFA is Director of Research