Global economic recovery is continuing, but fault lines opened up by pandemic looking more persistent: IMF

Washington [US], October 13 : The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday noted that although the global economic recovery is continuing, the fault lines opened up by the Covid-19 pandemic are looking "more persistent."
"The global economic recovery is continuing, even as the pandemic resurges. The fault lines opened up by COVID-19 are looking more persistent--near-term divergences are expected to leave lasting imprints on medium-term performance," said the IMF in the World Economic Outlook report.
In a quarterly update, IMF said that the global economy is projected to grow 5.9 per cent in 2021 and at 4.9 per cent in 2022.
"The downward revision for 2021 reflects a downgrade for advanced economies--in part due to supply disruptions--and for low-income developing countries, largely due to worsening pandemic dynamics," IMF said.
IMF report said that GDP growth in the first half of 2021 was broadly in line with expectations.
"Outturns for first-quarter global GDP were stronger than anticipated, reflecting continued adaptation of economic activity to the pandemic and associated restrictions as well as ongoing policy support in many countries."
The report added that growth momentum, however, weakened in the second quarter, weighed down by increasing infections in many emerging markets and developing economies and by supply disruptions.
"Overall, the balance of risks for growth is tilted to the downside. The major source of concern is that more aggressive SARS-CoV-2 variants could emerge before widespread vaccination is reached," the report said.