Global economy in 2020 on track for sharpest downturn since 1930s: IMF

The global economy is expected to shrink by 3.0% during 2020 in a stunning coronavirus-driven collapse of activity that will mark the steepest downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.

The IMF, in its 2020 World Economic Outlook, predicted a partial rebound in 2021, with the world economy growing at a 5.8% rate, but said its forecasts were marked by “extreme uncertainty” and that outcomes could be far worse, depending on the course of the pandemic.

In January, before the extent of the current outbreak both inside and outside China was known, the IMF had forecast that the global economy would grow 3.3% in 2020 as U.S.-China trade tensions were easing, with 3.4% growth seen for 2021.

Source: Reuters
Full Content: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-imf-worldbank-outlook/global-economy-in-2020-on-track-for-sharpest-downturn-since-1930s-imf-idUSKCN21W1MA