World Bank: ‘Impressive’ US economy is powering the world

The World Bank upgraded its outlook for the global economy and said the “impressive” U.S. economy is powering the world.

The latest outlook estimates the global economy will expand 2.6 percent, an increase from the 2.4 percent growth predicted for the year.

In the foreword of the World Bank’s latest economic outlook, Indermit Gill, the group’s senior vice president and chief economist, said the global economy appears to be approaching a “soft landing” in 2024, meaning a global recession has been avoided despite having “the steepest rise in global interest rates since the 1980s.”

One of the driving factors, Gill outlined, is the U.S. economy.

“The U.S. economy, in particular, has shown impressive resilience,” Gill wrote. “Growth has remained buoyant in the teeth of the fiercest monetary policy tightening in four decades.”

The U.S. economy is one of the reasons that the World Bank expects the global economy will enjoy “some upside potential over the next two years,” he wrote.

Ayhan Kose, the bank’s deputy chief economist, told The Associated Press that U.S. growth is “exceptional.”

Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, voters continually say the economy is their biggest concern even as numerous indicators suggest the U.S. economy is doing remarkably well.

The most recent jobs report delivered a pleasant surprise as payrolls increased by nearly 300,000 in May, but the positivity isn’t being given to the Biden administration, who has struggled with selling voters on the success of the economy.

Gill said policymakers can celebrate that inflation is at a three-year low and a global recession has been avoided after the COVID-19 pandemic but warned that growth rates remain too slow for progress.

“Without stronger international cooperation and a concerted push for policies that advance shared prosperity, the world could become stuck in the slow lane,” he said.

The World Bank is made up of 198 member nations and looks to reduce poverty and living standards in developing countries, the AP noted.