IMF largely holds '26 global growth forecast steady

In its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) update released on July 8, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has broadly held its global growth forecast for 2026 unchanged from its April prediction, trimming the earlier forecast by a small 0.1% to 3%, while raising that for 2027 by 0.2% to 3.4%, Mysteel Global noted.

"The global economy as a whole has, so far, weathered the shock from the war (in the Middle East) better than feared," the WEO says, citing the accelerated momentum in the global technology cycle driven by artificial intelligence (AI) as the major cushion against the shock. However, the Fund also