For large and small nations around the globe, the prospect of averting a recession is fading.
That grim prognosis came in a report Tuesday from the World Bank, which warned that the grinding war in Ukraine, supply chain chokeholds, COVID-19-related lockdowns in China, and dizzying rises in energy and food prices are exacting a growing toll on economies all along the income ladder. This suite of problems is "hammering growth,” David Malpass, the bank’s president, said in a statement. "For many countries, recession will be hard to avoid.”
World growth is expected to slow to 2.9% this year from 5.7% in 2021. The outlook, delivered in the bank’s Global Economic Prospects report, is not only darker than one produced six months ago, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but also below the 3.6% forecast in April by the International Monetary Fund.