Investment Commentary April 2021

Economic reports over the past month have confirmed that the global economy continues to recover. Indeed, in a recent research report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) flagged its expectation for a stronger economic recovery in 2021 as Covid-19 vaccination programmes progress. The IMF raised its forecast for world economic growth in 2021 to 6% from the 5.5% forecast published in January. Likewise, the global GDP forecast for 2022 was raised from 4.2% to 4.4%. The IMF noted that its upward revisions were driven by “additional fiscal support in a few large economies, the anticipated vaccine-powered recovery in the second half of 2021, and continued adaptation of economic activity to subdued mobility.”  Importantly, the organisation cautioned that elevated levels of “uncertainty surrounds this outlook, related to the path of the pandemic, the effectiveness of policy support to provide a bridge to vaccine-powered normalization, and the evolution of financial conditions.”

Continue reading here