Fitch sharply downgrades global growth forecasts on escalating trade war

Fitch Ratings is citing a severe escalation in the global trade war as the reason for its decision to sharply lower its forecasts for world growth this year. In a statement on Wednesday, Fitch said U.S. annual growth in 2025 is expected to remain positive at 1.2% but will slow to a crawl through the year to just 0.4% on a year-over-year basis in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, China’s growth is forecast to fall below 4% this year and next, while eurozone growth will remain stuck well below 1%. Overall, world growth is projected to fall below 2% this year, which would be the weakest since 2009 excluding the pandemic, the rating agency said. All three major U.S. stock indexes remained lower ahead of Wednesday afternoon trading in New York, as U.S. government debt continued to rally.