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The IMF has approved an emergency funding of USD 206 million under its rapid finance instrument to help Sri Lanka address the urgent needs arising from the catastrophic Cyclone Ditwah and preserve macroeconomic stability. The cyclone caused widespread destruction in the island nation and left over 643 people dead. In a statement issued on Friday, the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the disaster has created urgent humanitarian and reconstruction needs, generating significant fiscal pressures and balance-of-payments needs. The emergency financial support provided by the IMF under the rapid finance instrument will help address these pressures, it said. The IMF added that the cyclone devastation hit when the Fifth Review of Sri Lanka's USD 2.9 billion bailout was nearing completion. Given the time needed to assess the economic impact of the cyclone and examine how an IMF-supported programme can best support Sri Lanka's recovery and reconstruction efforts while
The Indian economy is expected to record around 7 per cent growth in the current fiscal, slightly higher than 6.6 per cent projected by the IMF in October, said Gita Gopinath, former chief economist of the Washington-based International Monetary Fund. Speaking at Times Network's India Economic Conclave 2025, Gopinath said that the IMF made its projection for India's growth before the National Statistical Office (NSO) came out with its July-September quarter growth rate of 8.2 per cent. "I would say that the IMF number (India's growth projection) was 6.6 per cent that came out in October. But their forecast for the second quarter of the current fiscal, in terms of what the growth would be, was much lower than what it turned out to be at over 8 per cent. "Just doing math, I would expect that India's GDP growth would go up close to 7 per cent," she said. Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank of India raised the GDP growth projection to 7.3 per cent for the current fiscal from its earli
India's economy is estimated to grow at 6.6 per cent in 2025-26, the International Monetary Fund said, noting that the Goods and Services Tax reforms are likely to help cushion the country from the adverse impact of the 50 per cent tariffs imposed by the US. "India's economy has continued to perform well. Following the economic growth of 6.5 per cent in fiscal year 2024/25, real GDP expanded by 7.8 per cent in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025/26," the IMF said in a statement after its Executive Board completed an annual assessment for India. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that looking ahead, India's ambition to become an advanced economy can be supported by advancing comprehensive structural reforms that enable higher potential growth. Despite external headwinds, growth is expected to remain robust, supported by favourable domestic conditions, it added. "Under the baseline assumption of prolonged 50 per cent US tariffs, real GDP is projected to grow at 6.6 per cent
Pakistan and the IMF on Wednesday reached a staff-level agreement (SLA) on the country's loan programmes, paving the way for Islamabad to access USD 1.2 billion, pending approval from the global lender's board. The Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) will provide Pakistan with USD 1 billion under its Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and USD 200 million under its Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) after approval from the fund's board. Last week, an IMF mission led by Iva Petrova concluded talks with Pakistani authorities on the second review of the EFF agreed in 2024 and the first review for the RSF climate loan agreed this year, but it left Pakistan without signing a staff-level agreement. In a statement issued early on Wednesday, Petrova stated that the staff-level agreement remained subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board. Supported by the EFF, Pakistan's economic programme is entrenching macroeconomic stability and rebuilding market confidence, she ..
The US and global economies will grow a bit more this year than previously forecast as the Trump administration's tariffs have so far proved less disruptive than expected, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday, though the agency also said the extensive duties still pose risks. The United States' economy will expand 2 per cent in 2025, the IMF projected in its influential semiannual forecast, the World Economic Outlook. That is slightly higher than the 1.9 per cent forecast in the IMF's last update in July and 1.8 per cent in April. The US should grow 2.1 per cent next year, also just one-tenth of a per cent faster than its previous projection, the IMF said. Its current forecasts are still down from a year ago, however, a sign that the international lending agency expects the tariffs to weaken the US economy, in part by creating more uncertainty for businesses. Last October, the IMF forecast the US would grow 2.2 per cent this year. All the projections also represent a ...