IMF chief Christine Lagarde forecasts tepid growth for world economy

The IMF chief Christine Lagarde has said the world economy is going through a tepid recovery.

Speaking during a women’s forum in Dubai, the newly re-elected lMF chief said global economic growth stood at 3.1 per cent in 2015 and is expected to grow by slightly higher than 3 percent this year.

Emerging economies are slowing or in a weak position especially the BRICS, Largarde said.

“The other emerging market economies are either slowing deliberately, like China, or in a pretty weak position, whether it’s Russia, whether it’s Brazil, whether it’s South Africa; those countries are struggling and both Russia and Brazil will be in a negative territory this year,” she added.

Due to the current global downturn in commodities, she said commodity producers especially oil exporters are facing a new reality.

Lagarde added that world prices, not only of oil but also of metals and food, have gone down significantly to actually change the business models of those countries, which some of them are addressing well.