2023 will likely be ‘worst of it’ for global economic storm: expert – National

The worst of the global economic storm that’s been brewing will likely hit next year, according to Eurasia Group founder Ian Bremmer.

Years of economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the continuation of the Russia-Ukraine war, and an energy supply crisis in Europe have caused inflation rates to skyrocket around the world.

But the challenges will likely continue to trend in the wrong direction in the coming months, Bremmer warned in an interview with The West Block‘s Mercedes Stephenson.

“I think that 2023 is probably going to be the worst of it,” he said, adding that it will be “very easily more challenging than what we’ve seen over the past months.”

Bremmer’s comment comes just two weeks after the International Monetary Fund cut its global growth forecast for 2023, cautioning that the three largest economies — the United States, China, and Europe — will “continue to stall” and cause 2023 to “feel like a recession.”

In Canada, inflation cooled slightly in September but still sits at 6.9 per cent — and food prices soared to a 41-year-high with an 11.4 per cent increase, according to Statistics Canada.

These economic hardships are set to get worse, not better, in the months ahead, the global political risk researcher warned.

For example, the energy crisis in Europe — the result of Russia cutting off its gas pipelines to the region amid its conflict with Ukraine — is causing “very expensive” prices, but the pain has been mitigated by the region’s gas storage.

“The governments can make people whole. They can provide subsidies for people that don’t have the means,” Bremmer said.

“But they’re not going to run out of energy this year.”

However, come 2023, “that won’t be the case,” Bremmer warned.

“Next winter is going to be harder,” he said.

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