FX.co ★ IMF predicts worst economic downturn since Great Depression

As the coronavirus crisis escalates, economists are making grimmer and grimmer predictions about the future of the global economy. The COVID-19 outbreak has ruined all hopes for economic prosperity. Due to the shock that the epidemic has inflicted on both advanced and developing economies, countries across the world are bracing for the global financial crisis. Recently, the International Monetary Fund has added fuel to the fire by issuing a warning about the coronavirus’s economic toll. "It is very likely that this year the global economy will experience its worst recession since the Great Depression, surpassing that seen during the global financial crisis a decade ago," IMF Economic Counsellor Gita Gopinath pointed out. Kristalina Georgieva, the managing head of the IMF, also said that the world is facing its worst downturn since the Great Depression. Thus, the coronavirus crisis is sure to reverse decades of gains from globalization. The pandemic has proved that the world economy is extremely fragile and unstable. Notably, the situation has changed dramatically in a short period. At the beginning of the year, the IMF projected an increase in per capita income in more than 160 countries this year. However, now, the IMF warns that 170 countries will suffer a reversal of living standards, including both advanced and developing countries. “We are still confronted with incredible uncertainty about the depth and duration of this crisis. However, it is now clear that the growth of the global economy will become sharply negative in 2020. In fact, we anticipate the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression,” Mrs. Georgieva said