World has entered recession: IMF chief
"There may be a sizable rebound, but only if we succeed at containing the virus everywhere"
The coronavirus has already plunged the global economy into recession, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Friday (March 27), adding immense pressure on emerging markets suffering from lost commerce, reduced exports and massive capital outflows.
Georgieva told a news conference that emerging market countries need at least $2.5 trillion in financial resources to get through the pandemic. Internal reserves and borrowing in local markets will be insufficient to cover these needs, so substantial funding from the IMF, other institutions and bilateral creditors will be necessary.
IMF member countries had encouraged the Fund to focus its efforts on steps that could be done quickly, including a doubling of emergency financing to $100 billion and creation of a new short-term liquidity facility, she said in an interview.
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The United States surpassed two grim milestones on Thursday. The death toll soared past 1,000, reaching 1,261 by the end of the day, and the total number of infections topped 85,000, exceeding the national totals of China and Italy to make the United States the world leader in confirmed cases.
Worldwide, confirmed cases rose above 550,000 and deaths 25,000, the Johns Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center reported on Friday.
