Recession likely if coronavirus becomes pandemic: Moody’s

New Delhi, February 26

A global recession is likely if coronavirus becomes a pandemic, and the odds of that are uncomfortably high and rising with infections surging in Italy and Korea, Moody’s Analytics said today.

“The coronavirus has been a body blow to the Chinese economy, which now threatens to take out the entire global economy,” Chief Economist Mark Zandi said.

The outbreak of the virus was first detected in Wuhan in China in December and has since affected thousands of people across the globe.

“COVID-19 is battering the global economy in numerous ways. Chinese business travel and tourism has all but stopped; global airlines are not going to China and cruise lines are cancelling most Asia-Pacific itineraries. This is a huge problem for major travel destinations, including in the US, where some 3 million Chinese tourists visit each year,” Moody’s Analytics said. — PTI