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Most economists are looking for the economy to slow in the coming months, but that was also the forecast at the start of 2023. And that proved wrong.

U.S. News & World Report

What is the role of the?

My assumption is that the is being used because "from now" is implied after "the coming months".

Obviously, "the coming months" has not previously been referred to, so the use of the induces me to ask How many months are the coming months?.

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    "The coming months" is not a fixed number, but if the writer meant 25, the writer would use "years."
    – Yosef Baskin
    Commented Sep 25 at 12:32

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There is no difference between in the coming months and in coming months. They refer to events happening soon without mentioning precisely when or for how long.

The version without the definite article expresses equally well the meaning from now:

Most economists are looking for the economy to slow in coming months ...

The Ngram chart shows that the usage with the definite article far outnumbers that without.

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