Members commenced their discussion of international economic developments by noting that the global economy had continued to recover from the largest contraction in decades, supported by a substantial fiscal and monetary policy response and the easing of measures to contain the virus in some countries. There were widening gaps in the outlook across economies, however, which largely reflected differences in health outcomes and progress with the vaccination of populations. Higher vaccination rates and the associated relaxation of containment measures had enabled a rapid recovery in several advanced economies, but in ... (full story)