WASHINGTON, June 8 — The coronavirus will cause global economic output to contract by 5.2 per cent in 2020, the World Bank said today, warning that its latest forecasts would be revised downward if uncertainty over the pandemic and business lockdowns persist for longer periods.

In its latest Global Economic Prospects report, the World Bank said that advanced economies are expected to shrink 7.0 per cent in 2020, while emerging market economies will contract 2.5 per cent, their first since aggregate data became available in 1960. On a per-capita GDP basis, the global contraction will be the deepest since 1945-46 as World War Two spending dried up.

The updated forecasts show more damage to the economy than estimates released in April by the International Monetary Fund, which predicted a 3.0 per cent global contraction in 2020. — Reuters