December 2013
Summary:
Anaemic economic recovery is accompanied by tame?inflation in developed economies.
?GDP growth is stronger than expected in the United?States.
?Currencies in some emerging economies are under?pressure again.
Along with subdued economic recovery in developed economies?and moderated growth in emerging economies, the average global?consumer price inflation index fell to historical lows in 2013, indicating considerable slack in the global economy and the risk of?deflation in some countries. Global consumer price inflation (excluding food and energy) decelerated from an annual rate of 2.2 per?cent in the six months through March 2013 to a 1.8 per cent in the?six months…
Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects, No. 61
November 2013
Summary:
Global?manufacturing?production?has improved
Economic?recovery?is?strengthening?in?developed?economies,?although?slowly
Public?fiscal?stimulus?programmes?have?been?a?determinant?factor?in?economic?growth?in?many?developing?countries
Global industrial production accelerated by an annualized rate of 4 per cent?in the third quarter of 2013, in line with an ongoing positive trend in industrial production and trade. This is the fastest pace in about two and a?half years, excluding the exceptional circumstances that followed the flooding?in Thailand and Japan?s nuclear disaster in 2011. Industrial production picked?up in many countries, but the strongest acceleration in…
Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects, No. 60
October 2013
Summary:
US Fed delays the tapering of the QE programme, providing a temporary relief for emerging markets
Chinese economy strengthens
Current-account deficits widen in several emerging economies
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Contrary to expectations, the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) announced no changes in its monetary policy stance at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on 17-18 September, maintaining the federal funds rate near zero and keeping the size of its monthly purchases of?long-term assets at $85 billion. Three major factors may explain why the Fed?decided to delay tapering the purchase of assets. First, recent data did not?confirm a sufficiently strong economic…
Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects, No. 59
September 2013
Summary:
BRICS?establish?anti-crisis?facility
Western?Europe?exits?recession
Growth?in?emerging?markets?remains?uneven amid?structural?issues?and?tightening?external?financing?conditions
During the G20 summit, the countries of the BRICS group (Brazil, the?Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa) agreed to establish a?contingent reserve arrangement by pooling resources in a $100 billion fund.?China will contribute $41 billion, South Africa will contribute $5 billion, and?the three other members will provide $18 billion each. This is a precautionary facility to help shield these emerging economies from stock market and?exchange-rate volatility as the advanced…
Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects, No. 58
August 2013
Summary:
Emerging economies enact?policy measures to forestall?slowing growth
US GDP statistics revised
Drought conditions affect?Southern Africa
A number of indicators point to slowing growth in emerging economies, partly due to?protracted weak external demand from developed countries, but also due to domestic?factors. Differing in their policy space, as well as policy intention, a number of major
emerging economies have taken steps to deal with the slowdown. While the efforts are?not nearly as extensive as those undertaken during the eruption of the financial crisis,?they still demonstrate the necessity of supporting growth. These measures have also come
into effect at the…
Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects, No. 57
July 2013
Summary:
Global?financial turmoil?amid?expectations?of?tapering?QE?stance
Significant?capital?outflows?and?sharp?depreciation?of?domestic?currencies?in?developing?countries
Western?Europe?struggling?to?move?out?from?recession
Large?emerging?economies?continue?to?face?domestic?vulnerabilities
Expectations of an impending reduction in the size of the long-term securities?purchases in the unconventional monetary policy programmes by major central banks, particularly the United States Federal Reserve (Fed), have caused?turmoil in global financial markets. In June, the Fed signaled tapering off the?quantitative easing (QE), particularly the bond purchases program of $85 billion per…
Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects, No. 56
June 2013
Summary:
Financial?markets?upbeat;?real?economies?sluggish
Subdued?global?growth?in?2013?and?moderate?pick-up?expected?for?2014
Unemployment?remains?a?key?policy?challenge
Short-term?risks?have?diminished?but?not?disappeared;?new?medium-term?risks?emerge
Despite improved global financial conditions and signs of reduced short-term?risks, the world?economy continues to expand at a subdued pace. After markedly slower growth over the past?two years, global economic activity is expected to?slowly gain momentum in the second?half of 2013, but growth?will still remain?below potential.?
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Download the World Economic Situation and Prospects Monthly Briefing No. 55
Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects, No. 55
May 2013
Summary:?
Commodity?prices?decline?as?global?trade?remains?weak
The?ECB?cuts?interest?rates,?returning?to?conventional?monetary?policy
Economic?momentum?weakens?in?East?Asia;?another?interest?rate?cut?in India
The global economy continued to expand at a subdued pace in the first?quarter of 2013. The euro area is still in a recession and the recovery has?been feeble in most other developed countries. In addition, many emerging economies, including Brazil, China, India and the Russian Federation,?are growing below pre-crisis levels and exhibiting major difficulties. The?weak global demand is affecting the performance of trade and the evolution of world market prices for primary…
Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects, No. 54
April 2013
Summary:
Renewed?concerns?about?banking?fragility?in?the?euro?area
Capital?inflows?into?emerging?markets?gain?momentum
The?Bank?of?Japan?discloses?its?new?monetary?stance?which?is?beyond?market?expectations
United?States?housing market?strengthens?further
Agreement was finally reached on a rescue programme for Cyprus. Cypriot?banks were hard hit by the write-down of their holdings of Greek sovereign debt resulting from the Greek bailout agreement. Cypriot bank assets?are over seven times the size of the country?s GDP, making a government?bailout impossible without external support. The bailout required about ?17 billion, to be generated through a combination of bank…
Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects, No. 53
March 2013
Summary:
Sequestration may lead to lower growth in the?United States?
Weaknesses continue in the European Union
China announces a GDP target of 7.5 per cent?while India boosts budget spending
The Congress of the United States failed to agree on how to reduce the?government deficit in the next decade, thereby automatically activating the?Budget Control Act of 2011 on March 1 of this year. The automatic cuts,?referred to as the ?sequester,? include across-the-board automatic spending cuts worth $1.2 trillion, equally distributed between defense and non-defense programmes. Although the Act exempts Social Security, Medicaid?and other entitlement programmes from sequestration, it…
Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects, No. 52
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