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20/01/2026 04:13 AST
An unexpectedly sturdy world economy is likely to shrug off President Donald Trump's protectionist trade policies this year, thanks partly to a surge of investment in artificial intelligence in North America and Asia, the International Monetary Fund said in a report out Monday.
The 191-nation lending organization expects that global growth will come in at 3.3% this year, same as in 2025 but up from the 3.1% it had forecast for 2026 back in October, The Associated Press reported.
The world economy "continues to show notable resilience despite significant US-led trade disruptions and heightened uncertainty,'' IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas and his colleague Tobias Adrian wrote in a blog post accompanying the latest update to the fund's World Economic Outlook.
The US economy, benefiting from the strongest pace of technology investment since 2001, is forecast to expand 2.4% this year, an upgrade on the fund's October forecast and on expected 2025 growth - both 2.1%.
China - the world's second-largest economy - is forecast to see 4.5% growth, an improvement on the 4.2% the IMF had predicted October, partly because a trade truce with the United States has reduced American tariffs on Chinese exports.
India, which has supplanted China as the world's fastest-growing major economy, is expected to see growth decelerate from 7.3% last year (when it was juiced by an unexpectedly strong second half) to a still-healthy 6.4% in 2026.
Asharq Al Awsat
| Ticker | Price | Volume |
|---|
| Index | Closing | Change |
|---|---|---|
| NIKKEI 225 | 36,581.76 | -251.51 (-0.68 |
| DAX | 18,699.40 | 181.01 (0.97 |
| S&P 500 | 5,626.02 | 30.26 (0.54 |
23/01/2026
A tsunami is hitting the labour market as AI is quickly reshaping economies; while some roles grow, others will disappear, warned Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary
Trade Arabia
23/01/2026
President Donald Trump's use of tariffs as a foreign policy tool added fresh impetus in Davos this week to efforts to boost global trade beyond the U.S., with frustration palpable among many of Washi
Reuters
22/01/2026
The infrastructure to develop and power generative artificial intelligence models will require further "trillions" of dollars in investment, the head of top AI chipmaker Nvidia said Wednesday.
Kuwait Times
21/01/2026
Global trade executives are entering 2026 with strong confidence that resilient supply chains, alternative shipping routes, and accelerating infrastructure investment will continue to drive commerce
Khaleej Times
19/01/2026
China's economy expanded at a 5% annual pace in 2025, buoyed by strong exports despite US President Donald Trump's tariffs.
However, growth slowed to a 4.5% rate in the last quarter of the y
Asharq Al Awsat
Financial Information Co.
Saudi Arabia