G20 countries’ medium-term growth to be weakest since 2009 crisis, IMF says

By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The world’s 20 largest economies will grow by just 2.9% in 2030 amid headwinds from protectionism and policy uncertainty, their weakest medium-term outlook since the global financial crisis of 2009, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

In a report to the Group of 20, the global lender mapped out a series of challenges facing the global economy, including widening excessive balances and stretched public coffers, as well as aging populations in advanced economies.

The G20’s advanced economies – the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and South Korea – were forecast to see economic growth of just 1.4% in 2030, it said. G20 emerging market economies – Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico,