BANGKOK — The International Monetary Fund has raised its forecast for global economic growth this year as the AI-driven investment boom helps offset some of the impact from surging energy costs.
The IMF expects the global economy to grow at 3.1% in 2026, up from the 3% projected in July, but slower than the 3.5% rate last year. For 2027, it kept the forecast unchanged at 3.4%.
The UN agency expects inflation at 4.1% in 2027, above the 3.9% it projected in July – when it estimated the Strait of Hormuz would reopen by mid-July, with conditions broadly returning to pre-war levels by March 2027. For the current year, it maintained its 4.7% outlook.
The IMF now estimates that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen in March next year and return to pre-war state by October. Gulf crude exports averaged 88% of pre-conflict levels in September as traffic picked up, the international body said.
The report was released at the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok this week, where finance ministers and central bank governors from the fund's 191 members are meeting to discuss geopolitical tensions, mounting public debt and artificial intelligence.