OECD Lifts 2026 Global Growth to 2.9% on AI Investment, Warns Energy Shock to Cut 2027 Outlook and Fuel Inflation

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Wednesday raised its 2026 global growth forecast to 2.9% from 2.8%, crediting artificial-intelligence investment, but cut its 2027 projection to 3.0% from 3.1%, citing energy and commodity price shocks tied to Middle East conflict. The Paris-based OECD said in its interim outlook that higher-than-expected inflation may force central banks from the U.S. to Australia to tighten further. It forecast G20 inflation of 4.1% in 2026 and 3.6% in 2027, both revised up. AI infrastructure spending, from data centers to semiconductors, drove U.S. growth and Japanese and South Korean tech exports. The OECD projected U.S. growth of 2.2% in 2026 and 2.1% in 2027. It expects the Federal Reserve to raise rates once more this year, with the ECB, Australia and South Korea tightening modestly and the Bank of Japan hiking again.