Widespread vaccinations across the globe along with continued liquidity provided by central banks internationally and the Federal Reserve, have compelled the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to revise global growth projections higher.
The IMF expects advanced economies less affected than emerging economies by the pandemic, which has taken a toll on emerging countries such as India and Brazil. Smaller emerging economies reliant on tourism have lost vast amounts of revenue and jobs as international travel essentially came to a halt.
In addition to economic projections, the IMF also posted other findings from its data, including demographics and humanitarian. It found that roughly 95 million people have fallen into extreme poverty over the past year due to the pandemic. It also identified an additional 80 million people worldwide that are without adequate food or are malnourished.
In a separately issued report released by the IMF, the Global Financial Stability Report, the IMF cautioned that the excessive use of central bank intervention and massive debt issuance as in the U.S. may produce unintended consequences such as inflationary pressures for consumers on a wide scale.
Source: IMF
Print Version: Global Economy Update May 2021