MNI BRIEF: IMF Ups Japan GDP View On Export Recovery, Stimulus

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slightly raised its forecast for Japan’s GDP growth this calendar year to 3.3% from 3.2% in October, in line with higher fiscal year estimates by the Bank of Japan and Cabinet Office.

GDP growth in Japan for 2023 is also seen higher at 1.8% from 1.4% in October. IMF annual economic forecasts are used by the BOJ in its own quarterly Outlook report forecasts. “Japan’s 2023 growth outlook is also revised up by 0.4 percentage point, reflecting anticipated improvements in external demand and continued fiscal support," the IMF said.

GLOBAL VIEW

The IMF raised its global growth forecast for 2023 to 3.8% from October’s 3.6%. “Global growth is expected to moderate from 5.9% in 2021 to 4.4% in 2022—half a percentage point lower for 2022 than in the October World Economic Outlook (WEO), largely reflecting forecast markdowns in the two largest economies," the IMF said.

"The upward revision to 2023 global growth is, however, not enough to make up ground lost due to the downgrade to 2022,” the IMF said.