World gross product projected to expand by just 2.4 per cent in 2016
Forthcoming referendum on EU membership has increased financial market volatility in the United Kingdom
Ongoing fiscal adjustment in Africa, the CIS, Latin America and Western Asia continues to constrain prospects
Global issues
Global growth outlook remains bleak; little prospect for turnaround in 2016
Growth in the world economy continues to be lacklustre, as highlighted in the World Economic Situation and Prospects Update as of mid-2016(figure 1). In the report, world gross product is projected to expand by just 2.4 per cent in 2016, the same rate as in 2015, marking a downward revision of 0.5 percentage points to…
World Economic Situation And Prospects: June 2016 Briefing, No. 91
Argentina re-enters international capital markets after 15 years
Deflationary trends remain a concern in euro area and Japan
GDP growth in China in line with government target, but United States and Republic of Korea fall short of expectations
Global issues
Argentina?s debt agreement underscores need for a multilateral approach to sovereign debt restructuring
Fifteen years after defaulting on its debt, Argentina returned to international capital markets in mid-April, issuing $16.5 billion in sovereign bonds. The sale, which included 3-year, 5-year, 10-year and 30-year bonds, was four times oversubscribed; however, Argentina had to settle for hefty coupon rates from 6.25 to 7.62 per cent…
World Economic Situation And Prospects: May 2016 Briefing, No. 90
Policy space in many developing countries constrained by El Ni?o
Further improvement in labour market conditions in Europe and the United States
Monetary stance eases in the CIS but tightens in Africa
Global issues
The world economy continues to face major headwinds. A tumultuous start in global commodity and financial markets early in the year suggests that these headwinds are unlikely to ease in the near term, although markets have largely stabilized in the past month and some recent indicators for developed economies suggest more solid labour market developments. The continued depressed commodity prices have important ramifications for both exporters and importers of commodities. The…
World Economic Situation and Prospects: April 2016 Briefing, No. 89
Is the zero lower bound no longer a hard constraint?
EU-wide strategy to address refugee crisis remains elusive
Drought leads to a spike in food prices in Africa and Latin America
Global issues
Widening divergences in global monetary policy stances
During the global financial crisis of 2008/09, the major central banks in the developed economies cut interest rates to near-zero levels. At that time, the zero lower bound on nominal interest rates was viewed as a hard constraint on monetary policy. This constraint was grounded in the premise that cash bears an implicit interest rate of zero per cent. The imposition of a negative rate?implying that the lender would pay the borrower for the…
World Economic Situation and Prospects: March 2016 Briefing, No. 88
Commodity price rout dampens regional growth prospects
China emphasized the need to improve productivity through policies on the supply side of the economy
Bank of Japan adopts a negative interest rate
Global issues
Commodity price further dampens growth prospects
The World Economic Situation and Prospects 2016 (WESP 2016), launched in December 2015, foresaw only tepid growth in the global economy in 2016. A tumultuous start to the year in global commodity and financial markets has deteriorated the outlook further. The price of Brent crude has been below $50 per barrel (pb) since mid-October 2015, and plunged to its lowest level since 2003, at just $27 pb, in mid-January 2016. The…
World Economic Situation and Prospects Monthly Briefing No. 87
The world economy stumbled in 2015 and only a modest improvement is projected for 2016/17 as a number of cyclical and structural headwinds persist. Global growth is estimated at a mere 2.4 per cent in 2015, marking a downward revision by 0.4 percentage points from the UN forecasts presented six months ago. Amid lower commodity prices, large capital outflows and increased financial market volatility, growth in developing and transition economies has slowed to its weakest pace since the global financial crisis of 2008/2009. Given the much anticipated slowdown in China and persistently weak economic performances in other large emerging economies, notably the Russian Federation and Brazil, the…
World Economic Situation and Prospects 2016: Global Economic Outlook
January Summary
Limited global financial market reaction to Fed's interest rate move
IMF includes Chinese renminbi in the SDR basket
Monetary tightening in Western Asia and Latin America in response to Fed's first rate hike in seven years
Global issues
Beginning normalization of the policy rate by the Fed elicits limited reaction in the financial market
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) raised the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points on 16 December, a move that had been anticipated by financial markets. The United Nations flagship publication World Economic Situation and Prospects 2016, launched on 10 December 2015…
World Economic Situation and Prospects Monthly Briefing No. 86
According to chapter one of the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2016, only a modest improvement in the world economy is projected for the next two years
Recessions in the Russian Federation and Ukraine may have reached a turning point
Unemployment on the rise in a number of South American economies
Global issues
The world economy stumbled in 2015, amid weak aggregate demand, falling commodity prices and financial market volatility
According to chapter one of the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2016, launched on 10 December 2015, the world gross product is projected to grow by a mere 2.4 per cent in 2015. This represents a significant downward revision from the 2.8 per cent…
World Economic Situation and Prospects Monthly Briefing No. 85
Global issues
Decline in capital inflows to emerging markets gains pace
Capital inflows to emerging economies continued a gradual but steady decline, amid domestic weaknesses and less favourable external conditions, including lower commodity prices and expectations of monetary tightening in the United States of America. In recent months, portfolio inflows to emerging economies fell markedly, particularly in some Asian countries such as China and Thailand, and also in other countries such as Mexico and Turkey. After reaching $16.5 billion in April, equity inflows dropped to $3.9 billion in June and to $1.6 billion in July, their lowest level in 2015. Bond inflows also remained subdued,…
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12 October 2015 Summary
Global trade flows drops in value terms amid persistently weak commodity prices and stronger US dollar
Budget cuts and increasing fiscal strains in many commodity-exporting developing countries
Global issues
Widening gap between values and volumes in global trade
According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), total value of international trade has dropped for three consecutive quarters up to the second quarter of 2015 (see table). For the first half of 2015, total world trade value measured in US dollars was about 13 per cent lower than the same period in 2014. This rapid deterioration appeared unevenly across regions. The Commonwealth…
World Economic Situation and Prospects Monthly Briefing No. 83
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