IMF slashes global growth outlook amid Omicron hit

The Omicron variant of Covid-19 is creating an obstacle course for the global economy, which will slow growth this year, notably in the world’s two largest economies, the IMF said Tuesday (25 January). The Washington-based crisis lender cut its world GDP forecast for 2022 to 4.4%, half a point lower than the October estimate, due to the “impediments” caused by the latest outbreak, though those are expected to begin to fade in the second quarter of the year. “The global economy enters 2022 in a weaker position than previously expected,” the IMF said in the quarterly update to its World…