IMF Slashes Global Outlook

The International Monetary Fund has once again slashed its economic predictions as governments worldwide struggle to battle the coronavirus fallout. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a greater economic impact than originally anticipated. The IMF has since modified their forecast on Wednesday, in an update to their World Economic Outlook, as well as downgrading their original GDP forecast for 2021. The Washington based IMF institution stated their modified predictions were based on the fact that social-distancing will likely remain in place for the latter half of 2020, and therefore continue to impact economic activity worldwide. A contributing factor to the change in their outlook includes countries still contending with high rates of infection, as well as supply chain productivity levels dropping. The continued lock-downs, reduced work hours and job loss has impacted 300 million full-time workers globally. At present, there is no economic growth certainty for the foreseeable future.