S&P predicts 4.7% slump in emerging market growth, warns of permanent scars

Rating agency S&P Global cut its emerging market growth forecasts on Monday, predicting a 4.7 per cent slump on average this year due to the coronavirus and warned that all countries would be left with permanent scars too.

The firm said the downward GDP revisions mostly reflected the overall worsening pandemic for many emerging markets and a larger hit to foreign trade compared to its last set of expectations in April that predicted a 1.8 per cent contraction.

"We project the average EM GDP (excluding China) to decline by 4.7 per cent this year and to grow 5.9 per cent