Mahmoud Gad

The International Monetary Fund's forecast of a slowdown in the growth of the world's two largest economies, the United States and China, in 2024, according to its report issued in October 2023, which put pressure on oil prices and led to a decline in the price of Brent crude by about 8.8% since the beginning of 2023 to record $78.4 per barrel on Thursday.

In contrast, the Fund expected an increase in the growth of the economies of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates.

As for Egypt, the fund expected its economy to slow down during the fiscal year 2024, which began last July, amid the currency crisis facing the country. The Egyptian pound is expected to witness declines against the US dollar during 2024, with expectations that the Central Bank of Egypt will raise interest rates in conjunction with the devaluation of the pound.

At the inflation level, the Fund expects global inflation rates to decline from an average of 6.9% in 2023 to 5.8% in 2024.

Inflation rates in the US are also expected to decline to an average of 2.8% in 2024 from 4.1% in 2023, which reinforces the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut in 2024.

(Prepared by: Mahmoud Gad, for communication: zawya.arabic@lseg.com)

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