Members commenced their discussion of the global economy by noting that many countries had seen a reduction in the number of new COVID-19 cases and had begun easing some restrictions on activity. The scale of the initial impact on economic activity in many of these economies had also become clearer in the available data. In contrast, a number of emerging market and low-income economies had yet to see a peak in the flow of new cases. Members observed that there continued to be material downside risks to the global outlook, especially if infection rates were to rise in countries where the epidemic had seemed to be ... (full story)