By Andrea Shalal
SAO PAOLO (Reuters) – Strong U.S. economic growth has been a “key driver” of better than expected global growth, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will tell a news conference on Tuesday ahead of this week’s meeting of G20 finance officials in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
In excerpts of her remarks released by Treasury, Yellen said the International Monetary Fund and other forecasters had projected a broad-based slowdown in the global economy in 2023 that did not happen.
Instead, growth came in at 3.1%, exceeding expectations, and inflation fell, with prices expected to continue falling this year in about 80% of economies, she said.
“Going forward, we remain cognizant of the risks facing the global outlook and continue to carefully monitor the economic challenges in certain countries, but the global economy remains resilient,” she said.
Yellen said U.S. economic strength had underpinned global growth, fueled by Biden administration policies supporting businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and investments in domestic manufacturing, clean energy and infrastructure.
U.S. inflation had also declined significantly from its peak and the U.S. labor market was historically strong, she said, with the prime-age labor force above its pre-pandemic level and the unemployment rate near historic lows.
“Had a U.S. recession come in 2023, like many predicted, global growth would have been thrown off track. While there are risks to our outlook, America’s growth has consistently…
