The January 2021 World Economic Outlook Report issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is projecting a 5.5% growth in the global economy this year, though its projection is underpinned by a distinct hedging of bets arising out of what is now believed to be fresh chameleon-like assaults from the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The Fund is proffering its 2021 growth projection against the backdrop of “exceptional uncertainty” following the near simultaneous realisation of the long-awaited vaccine on the one hand and the news that the seeming mutation of the virus could threaten if not nullify altogether the effect of the vaccine.
The IMF’s 2021 forecast is revised upward by 0.3% relative to the Fund’s previous forecast which it says reflects expectations of “a vaccine-powered strengthening of activity later in the year and additional policy support in a few large economies.”