According to German government sources, the threat of a worldwide recession has been avoided, but growth will be slow. The International Monetary Fund is set to release forecasts later in the day that will confirm this assessment. The global economy is currently experiencing growth, but it is not very robust. In some places, like Germany, there is no growth at all.
The sources emphasized the need for structural reforms to improve the situation. They also noted that global growth prospects are disappointingly low in the medium term. This week, the IMF spring meeting is taking place in Washington DC amid challenging circumstances, including recent tensions stemming from the Iranian attack on Israel.
During the meeting, G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will convene to discuss climate financing and strengthening international development banks. There are no plans for a formal communique following these discussions. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel have called on the IMF to focus on its core tasks rather than expanding into development policy issues. They expressed these sentiments in a joint op-ed published in Germany’s Handelsblatt.