For 2020, the World Bank expects GDP in the United States to fall by 4.3 per cent while it predicted a modest 2 per cent increase in China. Because of the uncertainty caused by the current resurgence in virus cases and initial problems in distributing vaccines, the World Bank cautioned that its forecast is highly uncertain. To combat the sharp downturn, the World Bank has made US$160 billion (NZ$220.10b) available to help more than 100 countries protect the poor, support businesses and bolster the recovery. Malpass, in a briefing for reporters, said the World Bank was making available US$12 billion to provide 1 billion Covid-19 vaccinations in poor countries. For all advanced economies, the World Bank predicted a drop of 5.4 per cent in 2020 and a rise of 3.3 per cent in 2021.

Source: Stuff January 06, 2021 05:37 UTC