WASHINGTON: The IMF said Thursday it expects the US economy to grow a bit more slowly than previously forecast, while praising the way it has remained “robust, dynamic, and adaptable to changing global conditions.”

The US economy “has been remarkably strong,” IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters during a press conference at the Fund’s headquarters in Washington on Thursday.

She added that the United States is the only economy out of the G20 group of nations whose economic output now exceeds its pre-pandemic level, pointing to stronger-than-expected employment growth, and a disinflation process that has been “less costly than most feared.”

The world’s largest economy is now expected to grow 2.6 percent this year, down 0.1 percentage point from the IMF’s previous forecast in April.

“The US economy has proven itself to be robust, dynamic, and adaptable to changing global conditions,” the IMF said in a statement accompanying its updated economic forecasts, adding that activity and employment “continue to exceed expectations.”

“Nonetheless, the fiscal deficit is too large, creating a sustained upward trajectory for the public debt-GDP ratio,” it added, while warning about the impact of the “ongoing expansion of trade restrictions.”