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Shkruar nga PamfletiThe US economy will continue to boom over the next two years as solid growth leaves Europe lagging behind, according to the World Bank.
The Bank's forecasts revealed the gap between the two blocs for growth, with Donald Trump's return to the White House set to give the world's largest economy a further boost.
Economists now expect the US economy to expand at roughly double the pace of the common currency area this year and next, after it lowered its forecasts for the eurozone.
While US growth is expected to ease from 2.8 percent in 2024 to 2.3 percent this year and 2 percent in 2026, this compares with expectations for growth of 1 percent this year in the eurozone and just 1.2 percent in 2026.
The Washington-based institution stressed that the forecasts do not take into account the president-elect's promise to deregulate and cut taxes, which it said could spur a further wave of growth.
Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to turn to Mr Trump for help in boosting growth amid mounting pressure on Labour's economic plans.
The Prime Minister is seeking a "partnership" with the US that would also help the UK avoid some of the high tariffs that Mr Trump has threatened to impose.
In contrast, the EU has been a frequent target of trade criticism from Mr Trump, who has vowed to impose a tariff of up to 20 per cent on all imported goods, with higher tariffs on China.
A separate survey by the World Economic Forum (WEF) also showed that economists were increasingly confident that the US economy would continue to do better.
Ahead of its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, the survey of leading global economists showed that 44 percent predicted strong U.S. growth in 2025, up from 15 percent when asked in August last year.
In contrast, the survey showed that Europe remained the weakest region for the third year in a row, with nearly three-quarters of respondents predicting "weak or very weak growth" across the bloc.
Most analysts expect the European Central Bank to cut interest rates further and more quickly to support growth as the bloc's largest economies, including France and Germany, struggle to grow.
The World Bank said Mr Trump's election victory had spurred an increase in risk appetite in the US, where consumer spending is expected to remain "resilient" amid a strong jobs market.
He said a renewal of the sweeping tax cuts introduced by Mr. Trump during his first term “would likely result in ... stronger near-term growth in the U.S.,” with an increase of up to 0.4 percentage points in 2026 alone.
However, economists warned that a 10 percentage point increase in US tariffs on all trading partners would knock at least 0.2 percentage points off its forecast for world economic growth of 2.7 percent this year.
Its latest outlook warned that "the expected negative effect could be amplified if proportionate retaliatory tariffs are taken into account - global growth would be lower than the baseline by a total of about 0.3 percentage points in 2025."
The WEF survey warned that tax cuts could fuel inflation, limiting economic expansion. Public debt is also expected to continue to rise at unsustainable levels.
Ayhan Kose, deputy chief economist at the World Bank, said the threat of higher inflation had not been defeated.
He said that "I think it's fair to say that the fight against inflation is still there. Central bankers have done a pretty good job of reducing inflation close to their target, but they need to be vigilant going forward."
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