• United States (US) gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.6% in the fourth quarter of 2022
  
• Inflation continued to soften in the US and European Union in March
  
• Energy prices fell by 6.3% on-month
  

According to S&P Global, global growth is expected to slow to 2.7% in 2023, amid aggressive rate hikes and geopolitical uncertainty. The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) global growth forecast is a tad higher at 2.8% for 2023. The recent crisis in the banking sector, including turmoil in a structurally significant bank, is fuelling fears of a global recession. Advanced economies, in particular, are expected to see a sharp slowdown in growth. The IMF forecasts that growth in advanced economies will slow to 1.3% in 2023 from 2.7% in 2022

Inflation is expected to cool significantly across key economies, partly due to the high base effect and softening commodity prices. In fact, inflation moderated significantly in March in the US and euro zone, though it remains significantly above central bank targets.