£5.6trn trade war threat

THE head of the international Monetary Fund (iMF) has warned that global trade wars could knock more than £5.6 trillion off global gDP.

Kristalina georgieva tempered hopes of a better outlook for the year ahead.

she said growth in 2023 now looked better than previously feared – as inflation subsides and the Chinese economy reopens. But she added: ‘if we are like an elephant in a China shop and we trash the trade that has been an engine for growth for so many decades, the cost can go up to 7pc loss of gDP – $7 trillion (£5.6 trillion).’

The pain caused by interest rates was ‘yet to bite’, she added, and when they do, unemployment is likely to rise.