Global Economic Policymakers Scramble as Coronavirus Threatens Growth

Global policymakers moved to ease public anxiety over the coming economic hit from the coronavirus on Monday, as analysts warned of a severe slowdown in growth and a possible recession if the virus continued to spread.

Finance ministers and central bankers from the world’s advanced economies said the Group of 7 would hold an emergency call on Tuesday morning to discuss economic responses to the outbreak. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund signaled they were also ready to provide assistance, particularly to poor nations. Monetary policymakers from Japan to Europe on Monday pledged to act as needed to stem any economic fallout as infections spread.

The rush of reassurance came amid increasingly dire economic projections tied to the coronavirus, which is spreading outside of China to South Korea, Italy, France and the United States, idling factories, quarantining workers and curtailing international travel.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said global growth could plummet to just 1.5 percent in 2020, far less than the 3 percent it projected before the virus surfaced, should the outbreak sweep through the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and North America. If things get bad enough, Japan and Europe could plunge into recession, the O.E.C.D. warned. Predictions for the United States were nearly as bad: Most analysts expect zero or negative growth in the second quarter, with some forecasting a potential recession before year’s end.

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