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All top 25 global economies set for growth in 2018

All of the top 25 global economies are set for growth in 2018, achieving an average growth rate of 2.8%, according to recent forecasts by a leading data and analytics company.

The top 3 fastest growing economies will be India, China and Indonesia, respectively. India’s GDP growth rate of 7.4% is being driven by the present Governments macroeconomic improvements which include the unified Goods and Services Tax (GST) and demonetization among other policy measures. Indonesia’s strong GDP growth rate of 5.2% reflects growing inward investment in the country together with the Government’s public sector budget increases.

According to a leading data and analytics company’s analysis report also included a review of a number of other macroeconomic indicators, namely:

Inflationary pressures to remain under control

Inflation is likely to peak at 18.8% in 2018 with the exclusion of Argentina , inflationary pressures are projected to remain largely unaffected across the top 25 global economies in 2018 at an average rate of 3.2%.

Unemployment set to remain high

Unemployment is set to remain high in major economies like Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Brazil and Turkey throughout 2018.

Economic Research expert, commented that ‘‘Spain is likely to witness the highest unemployment rate of the top 25 economies at 15.6% owing to the countries stringent labor laws which basically protect workers from getting fired and can therefore discourage employers from hiring new employees. Another contributing factor to the countries high unemployment rate is Spain’s weak recovery from the 2008 crisis.’’

Spain is followed by Brazil and Italy where unemployment forecasts are set to stay at 11.8% and 11%, respectively.

Expert continued, ‘‘Though the rate is declining, unemployment remains a concern in Brazil as the fall in commodity prices has reduced the demand for labor in key sectors like agriculture and industry.’’

Overall, most major economies are expected to see a decline in unemployment rates in 2018 compared to last year.

Low commodity prices threaten further economic downturn in some economies

Downward pressure on commodity prices is expected to continue to reduce the revenues of major commodity goods exporters like Brazil and Saudi Arabia causing major fiscal imbalances in these countries. As a result, Saudi Arabia’s government is planning to push back the target date of removing its budget deficit from 2020 to 2023.

Expert added that, ‘‘The less diversified a major economy is the more it will be effected by lower commodity prices as revenues falls. Despite a marginal commodity price recovery in recent years, they still remain significantly lower than their pre 2015 price crash levels.’’

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