WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The global economy has shown 鈥渞emarkable resilience鈥欌�� but still bears deep scars from the coronavirus pandemic, the and , the head of the International Monetary Fund said Thursday.
鈥淲hile the recovery from the shocks of the past few years continues, it is slow and it is uneven,鈥欌�� IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a speech in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, ahead of next week鈥檚 fall meetings of the IMF and the World Bank.
Global economic growth is likely to remain well below the 3.8% average of the past two decades and the world has lost $3.7 trillion in economic output from successive shocks since 2020, Georgieva said. The IMF releases its official growth forecasts Tuesday.
The she said, 鈥渋s the only major economy where output has returned to its pre-pandemic path. The rest of the world is still below trend.鈥欌��
The poorest countries are suffering the most because they have a limited ability to 鈥渂uffer their economies and support the most vulnerable," she said. Weighing on global growth is despite the lifting late last year of draconian zero-COVID policies, which had crippled commerce in the world's second-biggest economy last year.
Still, Georgieva said the world economy has proven unexpectedly sturdy in the face of higher interest rates, engineered by the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks to fight inflation that surged over the past two years. She said the odds are rising that global economy can manage a 鈥渟oft landing鈥欌�� 鈥� avoiding recession even while bringing down inflationary pressure.
鈥淔ighting inflation is the number one priority,鈥欌�� she said, urging central banks to keep interest rates 鈥渉igher for longer. It is paramount to avoid a premature easing of policy, given the risk of resurging inflation.鈥欌��
The IMF-World Bank meetings begin Monday in Marrakesh, Morocco.
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Associated Press writer Sam Metz in Rabat, Morocco, contributed to this report.
Paul Wiseman, The Associated Press
