Economic confidence takes a steep dive

New Delhi: Weak worldwide economic growth looks likely for the rest of 2022, according to the latest edition of the Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) from ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and Institute of Management Accountants (IMA).

The new report indicates that economic confidence among finance professionals and accountants in North America has fallen back to levels seen during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Confidence dropped in Asia-Pacific (-20) and South Asia (-30), after rise in the previous survey.

Fall in confidence and orders in the South Asia GECS were broadly in line with the global average for the quarter. In India, the region's largest economy, the central bank has raised interest rates from 4 per cent to 4.9 per cent since May as it grapples with inflation which is rising towards 7 per cent. Throughout the region the price of key imports such as fuels and edible oils have increased sharply in the wake of the war in Ukraine. The aftermath of the pandemic and war will be a significant increase in the numbers living in extreme poverty, the survey said.

The Q2 Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) - conducted in mid-June - pointed to a decisive deterioration in the global economic outlook.

Capturing the effects of geopolitical issues and the surge in inflation across much of the world, all the main global indicators fell in the Q2 survey.