There is a high risk of a resurgence in COVID-19 infections derailing the world economy this year, according to a firm majority of economists in a Reuters poll, who forecast global GDP would reach pre-pandemic levels within two years.
Global economy threatened by COVID-19 resurgence
There is a high risk of a resurgence in COVID-19 infections derailing the world economy this year, according to a firm majority of economists in a Reuters poll, who forecast global GDP would reach pre-pandemic levels within two years.
That threat, flagged by analysts who have largely been too optimistic about recovery prospects, comes despite world stocks adding $33 trillion in value from March lows, lifted by stimulus overflows, near-zero interest rates and COVID-19 vaccine rollouts.
Reuters polls of around 500 economists across Asia, Europe and the Americas revealed modest downgrades or no change to growth outlooks compared with previous surveys, as well as tamer inflation views across most countries.
Australia's economy, which entered 2021 in better shape than most of its peers, will gain further momentum from the successful domestic suppression of the coronavirus pandemic and supportive policies, according to a Reuters poll of economists.
Bouncing back from a pandemic stricken 2020 with official interest rates likely to be held steady, China’s economy is expected to grow 8.4% in 2021, before slowing to 5.5% in 2022, the median forecasts of 72 economists polled by Reuters showed. While the predicted growth for 2021 would be the best reading in a decade, .