A representative for the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday that the World Economic Outlook will be released on Jan. 25, a week later than anticipated, to take into account the latest COVID-19 developments, amid concerns that another downgrade is on the way. "On January 25, the World Economic Outlook update will be released to allow our teams to incorporate the most recent events connected to the COVID-19 epidemic into the economic estimates," a spokesman stated. Last month, spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters to expect an update on Jan. 19. Last month, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told the Reuters Next conference that the IMF was likely to lower its global economic growth forecasts in January due to the appearance of the Omicron coronavirus type. The IMF predicted global economic growth of 5.9% in 2021 and 4.9 percent this year in October, highlighting the uncertainties posed by new coronavirus types. In the last two years, the coronavirus has killed roughly 5.8 million individuals around the world. Given the rapid spread of the highly contagious Omicron variety and Congress' inability to pass President Joe Biden's $1.2 trillion social and climate spending package, economists expect the IMF to lower its economic projection for the United States, the world's largest economy. It has previously lowered its prediction for U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in October. Product growth will increase by a full percentage point to 6% in 2021, owing to supply chain disruptions and a labour shortage, while growth will be 5.2 percent in 2022. Since then, the pandemic has resurfaced, deepening congressional tensions. According to a Reuter’s analysis, the United States established a global record of nearly 1 million new coronavirus infections on Monday, and its daily average has totaled 486,000 cases over the last week, a pace higher than any other country.