Britain will be among first to break out of slump, says IMF
THE global recession will end next year with most of the major economies returning to growth, according to the International Monetary Fund.
And despite previous predictions, Britain is among the countries expected to turn the financial corner in 2010, with IMF analysts predicting growth of 0.2 per cent.
This year the UK’s economy is expected to contract by 4.2 per cent, but previous forecasts that the downward spiral would continue into next year have now been revised.
Elsewhere, worldwide economic growth is forecast to rise by 1.9 per cent, with expansion in China and India at the forefront. But despite the positive news, the IMF warns governments that the turnaround will be slow in arriving.
“The global economy is beginning to pull out of a recession unprecedented in the post-Second World War era, but stabilisation is uneven and the recovery is expected to be sluggish,” the IMF says.
“Financial conditions have improved, as unprecedented policy intervention has reduced the risk of systemic collapse and expectations of economic recovery have risen,”
But the IMF adds: “Nonetheless, vulnerabilities remain and complacency must be avoided.”