The International Monetary Fund has revised upwards its forecast for growth in the world's economy this year, based on the rollout of vaccines and financial support packages deployed by governments.
In an update to its World Economic Outlook published today, the IMF predicts the world's economy, in GDP terms, will grow by 5.5% this year, up 0.3% on its forecasts made last year.
It believes growth last year fell by 3.5% which is an improvement on its earlier forecasts for a fall of 4.4%. This was due to recovery across several economies in the second half of 2020.
The IMF noted a "severe collapse" in certain sectors last year which had its most acute adverse impact on women, younger workers, the poor and casually employed, particularly