IMF warns on US GDP growth citing election uncertainty

International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned yesterday that the political risks have emerged as the biggest risks to growth while it lowered growth forecast for the UK and the United States. According to the IMF, political tensions in the advanced economies are fuelling policy uncertainties around the globe.

IMF said that it expects the US economy to grow by 1.6 percent this year as the politics weigh on economies and with uncertainties surrounding the election on November 8th, contributing to a lag in the investments. Many consider the possibility of a Donald Trump win in November as a threat to trade liberalization and many and political business leaders believe that a Trump win could lead to a trade war in the world.

The organization has also expressed worries over economies like the UK, where it expects the Brexit to hard hit the economy and the Eurozone, where it believes that anger of Europe’s refugee policies would delay or derail political reforms. The only silver lining in the forecast is the emerging markets, where a growth of 4.2 percent should keep the world GDP growth at 3.1 percent.