IMF U.S. Main Talking Points:
- IMF reduced U.S. growth forecast to 4.0% for 2022
- Tapering, Inflation and Omicron are main contributors to economy slowdown
IMF reported U.S. growth at 4.0% for 2022, down 1.2 percentage points than initially predicted. With the new Omicron variant, U.S. renewed restrictions and enforced lockdowns. The path that we initially saw with the vaccines were disrupted by Omicron variant and have set back recovery. The pandemic has also been one of the key drivers of reduced numbers in the labor force affecting the supply chain disruptions. The impact on the economy from the pandemic and supply chain, manifested through a 40-year high inflation rate. Fossil Fuel prices almost doubled in the past year, driving up energy costs and the high demand for goods led to price pressures. Lastly, the Federal Reserve has recently announced that they will begin to accelerate its taper of asset purchases influencing the forecasted downgrade.
U.S. Dollar
continues to be firm despite economic slow-down going into 2022.
U.S. Dollar Index Price Chart
Created by Kaithleen Pesantez
--- Written by Kaithleen Pesantez, Market Strategist for DailyFX.com
Contact and follow Kaithleen on Twitter: @ktpesantez
