The International Monetary Fund has downgraded its forecast for US economic growth. It now expects GDP growth to be no more than 2.6% this year, signaling a slowdown in the world's largest economy.
The agency projects that the US economy will expand by 2.6% in 2024. This figure reflects a slower-than-expected start to the year. In its April report, the IMF predicted an increase of 2.7%. The revised forecast represents a 0.1 percentage point downgrade from the previous estimate.
In 2025, the US economy is expected to grow by 1.9%, in line with the previous forecast. According to the agency, instability over the Federal Reserve's interest rates has caused fluctuations in the dollar's exchange rate against other major currencies.
The IMF also anticipates that oil prices will remain around $81.26 per barrel in 2024 before falling to $76.38 per barrel in 2025. The average oil price forecast is based on the arithmetic mean of key benchmarks – Brent, Dubai, and WTI. Furthermore, the agency expects energy commodity prices to decline by 4.6% in 2024.
