| Topic: | IMF cuts UK growth forecasts following Brexit vote | |
| Posted by: | Will Watson | |
| Date/Time: | 19/07/16 18:27:00 |
| The International Monetary Fund has slashed its forecast for UK growth next year after warning that the decision to leave the EU has damaged the British economy’s short-term prospects and “thrown a spanner in the works” of the global recovery. The IMF, which voiced strong misgivings about a vote for Brexit in the run-up to the EU referendum, said it expected the UK economy to grow by 1.3% in 2017, 0.9 points lower than a previous estimate made in its April world economic outlook (WEO). While the fund is currently ruling out a full-blown recession as a result of the Brexit vote, the analysis by one of the leading global economic bodies underlines the financial challenges facing Theresa May’s government, since slower growth will lead to lower tax receipts and a bigger budget deficit. |