The World Bank has raised its economic growth forecast for 2026

The World Bank has raised its global economic growth forecast for 2026 to 2.6%, up from its June forecast of 2.3%. About this reports Bloomberg.

The US economy has seen growth estimates rise to 2.2% this year, up from 1.6% previously.

The new global outlook for 2026 sees a slight slowdown from stronger growth in 2025 than the bank had expected, citing a surge in trade as companies and households rushed to buy goods in anticipation of US President Donald Trump's tariffs.

The combination of the reduced impact of high import tariffs and increased defense spending helped support global growth at around 2.7% last year.

"Global growth is becoming a range bound. There is resilience, but growth is not accelerating," said Ayhan Kose, deputy chief economist at the World Bank. He noted that real GDP growth from 2023 remains in the range of 2.6% to 2.8%, compared with an average of 3.2% in the decade before the pandemic.

"There is a significant risk that trade tensions could escalate again, especially given that higher tariffs could redirect exports to third countries, forcing domestic producers in those countries to seek protection from increased import competition," the bank said in a statement.

• On January 9, the UN declared that the global economy will slow down the growth rate to 2.7% in 2026 compared to 2.8% last year.