It was only on Friday that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, decried the forecasts of doom about the UK economy, taking on the declinists who he said were permanently pessimistic about Britain's fate.
When I pointed out to him that it was business investment and household income that was declining, he replied: "You can choose statistics, I could also say that last year we became only the third trillion dollar tech economy in the world, and that we can find statistics that make one case or another. The UK has enormous opportunities, and it's an exciting place to visit. A forecast such as this on its own is just that, a forecast from the world's most important international economic institution. The value can come when it tells a different story across all countries it surveys.
In this case, the UK looks like an outlier. It was the only country to have seen a decline in growth forecasts since the autumn, and the only major G 7 country forecast to contract this year.
The IMF is not the only august institution that is worried about economic hits affecting the UK. The Bank of EnglandBank of England is asking why the UK hasn't seen the full return of its workforce after the Pandemic, unlike other major economies.
A workforce shrinkage of this kind would affect both the size of the economy and how long high inflation hangs around. The Bank's thinking on this is likely to be revealed on Thursday when it publishes its new forecast. The Treasury's forecasters will tell the government if there are any factors that could affect the level of borrowing.
Most economic analyses at the time pointed to higher levels of inflation and lower levels of growth than similar economies, as a result of less competition and more trade and employment barriers with our neighbours.
The UK's economic developments have been the focus of the IMF's forecast downgrade today. The IMF believes that the EU nations are somewhat optimistic, given Germany's surprise last quarter fall in actual GDP data, released yesterday.
If this predicted poorer relative performance by the UK on growth and inflation comes to pass this year, and is sustained, then it can not be down to common global factors.