Coronavirus crisis to narrow global current account imbalances, IMF says – The National

Coronavirus crisis to narrow global current account imbalances, IMF says – The National

Global current account balance could narrow by 0.3% of global GDP in 2020, though the outlook remains highly uncertain





























A second wave of Covid-19 infections may deepen the decline in global trade and supply chains and reduce investment appetite, according to the International Monetary Fund. AFP











A second wave of Covid-19 infections may deepen the decline in global trade and supply chains, reduce investment appetite, and limit financing of current account deficits for emerging market and developing economies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said.



The global current account balance declined 0.2 percentage points to 2.9 per cent of the world's gross domestic product in 2019 and is expected to narrow further by some 0.3 per cent of world GDP in 2020, due to coronavirus-related large fiscal expansions, the IMF said in its annual External Sector Report on Tuesday.



However, the outlook remains highly uncertain with substantial variations across countries as the world grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic.



Two thirds of governments globally have topped up their fiscal support to offset the effects of the pandemic, pumping about $11 trillion (Dh40tn) into their economies, compared