Global GDP growth affected by COVID - 19 : Fitch Ratings

Fitch Ratings, in its latest quarterly "Global Economic Outlook" (GEO) published today (March 20) said that the coronavirus crisis is crushing global GDP growth. Fitch said it expects global growth to fall to 1.3% in 2020 from 2.7% in 2019, which would be weaker than global downturns in the early 1990s and in 2001. The delayed impact of supply-chain disruptions and lower Chinese demand on the rest of the world will continue to be felt profoundly for some time, particularly in the rest of Asia and the eurozone. The interruptions to economic activity seen in China - and now in Italy - are on a scale and speed, that is not witnessed, except for periods of military conflict, natural disasters or financial crises. According to report, although recovery is expected from China by the second quarter of this year, Chinese growth is expected to fall just 3.7% for the year as a whole, down from 6.1% in 2019. Further, Fitch Ratings forecasted Italian GDP to fall by 2% this year and Spanish GDP by almost 1%. The baseline forecast for US growth is 1% in 2020 compared with a pre-virus outlook of 2% and GDP is expected to fall by 0.5% during the second quarter of this year.