IMF says coronavirus may shrink global imbalances further in 2020

The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday that global current account imbalances narrowed in 2019 as trade slowed, and the coronavirus could narrow them further in 2020, but some commodity exporters and tourism-dependent countries will swing to current account deficits.

The Fund projected a further narrowing by 0.3% of global GDP in 2020, partly due to massive fiscal and monetary stimulus by many countries and continued pressure on trade.

“Major commodity exporters should see their current accounts going from significant surpluses to significant deficits,” IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath said in a webcast presentation of the report.