ISLAMABAD :UNS/AP : Pakistan would experience inflation more than anticipated and witness a 0.5% growth rate, down from 2%, in the ongoing fiscal year (FY2023), reported a world economic outlook report released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday.
The report projected the inflation at 27.1pc and the current account deficit at 2.3pc of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for FY2023. On the other hand, the unemployment rate would rise to 7pc, 0.8pc higher than that of FY2022, stated the report.
The report also indicated a downfall in inflation and an upward trend in GDP growth at 21.9% and 3.5% respectively in FY2024. However, the next fiscal year would see the current account deficit going up to 2.4% of the GDP.
The unemployment rate was also projected to go down to 6.8pc in FY2024.
As for the world’s economy, the IMF downgraded its outlook for global economic growth. The IMF envisioned growth this year of 2.8%, down from 3.4% in 2022 and from the 2.9% estimate for 2023 it made in its previous forecast in January.
The fund said the possibility of a “hard landing,” in which rising interest rates weaken growth so much as to cause a recession, has ”risen sharply,” especially in the world’s wealthiest countries. Those conditions are also increasing the risks to global financial stability, the fund warned.
The IMF, a 190-country lending organization, forecasted 7% global inflation this year, down from 8.7% in 2022 but up from its January forecast of 6.6% for 2023.
