Coronavirus: China’s Delta outbreak forces economists to rethink 2021 GDP growth forecasts, as trade expos cancelled

South China Morning Post : More economists have moved to slash their economic outlook for China as the Delta variant spreads across the world’s second biggest economy, forcing the closure of restaurants and entertainment venues and the cancellation of numerous high-profile trade events.

The highly-infectious coronavirus mutation has grown quickly since an outbreak in Nanjing last month, leading to tightened control measures in many provinces and raising fears of a further slide in consumer spending

“This wave of outbreaks has significantly increased the downward pressure on the economy,” Liang Zhonghua, chief macro analyst at Haitong Securities, said in a note on Sunday.

Analysts from ANZ Research said on Tuesday they were likely to revise down this year’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast from 8.8 per cent if strict control measures continued into September.

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