noHowever, the organization acknowledged that growth prospects for the UK are “moderate,” and estimates the rise will be around 0.4% this year.
Last April, the International Monetary Fund estimated that UK economic output could suffer a contraction of 0.3%.
The decline in energy prices should contribute to “significantly reducing year-on-year inflation to around 5% by the end of 2023 and to a level below the target of 2% by mid-2025,” according to the IMF.
The UK’s annual inflation rate is 10.1%, well above the Bank of England’s target of 2%.
“The British authorities have taken decisive action to strengthen macroeconomic and financial stability and are focused on tackling inflation and reforms to boost productivity, labor supply, employment and investment,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Twitter today.
According to data released earlier this month by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UK’s gross domestic product grew by 0.1% in the first quarter of 2023, up from 0.0% in the previous quarter.
UK Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt said today that the International Monetary Fund’s outlook is a “significant improvement” to the UK’s growth outlook and lends credence to its actions to restore stability and control inflation.
The minister defended the government’s actions and stressed that if successful, the IMF would confirm that “the long-term growth prospects are stronger than those of Germany, France and Italy.”
The British government chose not to cut taxes, while the Bank of England decided to raise interest rates to control inflation.
The Office for National Statistics reported today that the UK’s accumulated net debt stood at £2.53 billion (€2.9 billion) at the end of March, 99.2% of the country’s GDP, the level it has seen since the early 1960s.
During that month, the debt amounted to 25,600 million pounds (29,440 million euros), up 11,900 million pounds (13,685 million euros) from April last year, according to the National Statistics Office.
Also read: Guterres wants to reform the UN Security Council, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank
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