A leading international economic watchdog urged developed countries to put more effort into providing low-income countries with coronavirus vaccines in order to ensure that the global recovery from the pandemic is more even.
In its latest assessment of the state of the global economy, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Tuesday that the global recovery from the shock of the pandemic is faster than it anticipated a year ago. Though the global economy has more than recouped the 3.4 per cent output lost in 2020, it cautioned that the recovery is “uneven.”
The OECD, which monitors and advises its 38 member countries, modestly downgraded its growth forecast for this year to 5.7 per cent from 5.8 per cent previously. For 2022, the OECD raised its forecast to 4.5 per cent from 4.4 per cent.
Among developed countries, the OECD said the U.S. economy is set to grow this year by 0.9 percentage points less than it anticipated in May, though at a still-healthy 6 per cent, while the 19-country eurozone is bouncing back by a full percentage point more than previously thought at 5.3 per cent. It left its China growth unchanged at 8.5 per cent.
Canada’s economy is forecast to expand by 5.4 per cent this year, the group said. That’s down from 6.1 before.
Vaccine inequality
In its report, the OECD said greater international effort should be put in to provide low-income countries with the resources they need to vaccinate their populations, both for their own and global benefits.
“Ensuring the recovery is sustained and widespread requires action on a number of fronts — from effective vaccination programs across all countries to concerted public investment strategies to build for the future,” said OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann.
Developed countries are being urged by a number of bodies, including the World Health Organization, to share excess vaccines with poor countries who have yet to immunize their people instead of using them to provide booster shots.
Last week, for example, the British government recommended that booster shots be offered to everyone over 50, health care workers, people with underlying health conditions and those who live with people whose immune systems are compromised. Others, including the U.S., are set to follow suit in offering booster shots to certain sections of their population.
The richer nations of the world have already committed to donate hundreds of millions of jabs to poorer countries via the COVAX scheme.
The OECD also urged developed countries not to be too hasty in withdrawing the “extraordinary support” they provided their economies at the outset of the pandemic as the outlook remains uncertain and employment levels in many parts of the world have not yet recovered fully to pre-pandemic levels.
It also said current inflationary pressures in the world economy arising from the reopening of economies should start to fade from next year.
The rapid pick-up in demand this year has led to a sharp rise in key commodities such as oil and metals, as well as food. The disruption to supply chains caused by the pandemic has added to cost pressures, while shipping costs have increased sharply.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
