The week that just unfolded was not an ordinary data week. It was a deluge—a barrage of economic releases and reports from across the world that offered a rare, real-time snapshot of where the global economy stands in 2026. More than just numbers, this data-heavy week acted as a window into the fault lines, strengths, and contradictions shaping the world economy.
First things first. The most comprehensive assessment of global growth came from the World Bank’s flagship report, Global Economic Prospects. It projected that world growth would edge down from 2.7 per cent in 2025 to 2.6 per cent in 2026 before recovering slightly to 2.7 per cent in 2027. The same report estimated US GDP growth at 2.2 per cent in 2026, while China’s growth is expected to slow from 4.9 per cent in 2025 to 4.4 per cent in 2026.
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Perhaps more worrying was the outlook for the…
