The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has updated its 2020 World Economic Outlook forecast. Global growth is now projected at -4.9 per cent in 2020, 1.9 percentage points below the April World Economic Outlook forecast.

Australia is the only developed country to see its 2020 growth forecast upgraded by the IMF. Compared to the April projection of -6.7 per cent, Australia is now forecast to contract in 2020 by 4.5 per cent.

Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a more negative impact on activity in the first half of 2020 than anticipated, and the recovery is projected to be more gradual than previously forecast.

In 2021, global growth is projected at 5.4 per cent. Overall, this would leave 2021 GDP some 6½ percentage points lower than in the pre-COVID-19 projections of January 2020. In Australia, growth is projected at 4.0 per cent, 2.1 percentage points below the April forecast.

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