US economy to shrink by 6.6% in 2020, faces significant risks: IMF staff

The coronavirus has infected more than 3.5 million Americans and killed nearly 140,000, both figures leading the world

The US economy is forecast to shrink by 6.6% in 2020 due to the shock of the coronavirus pandemic, but a resurgence in coronavirus infections and a systemic increase in poverty could worsen that outlook, the staff of the International Monetary Fund warned on Friday.

After concluding a regular Article IV review of the world’s largest economy, IMF staff cited other risks, including a big increase in government and corporate debt levels, and the prospect of a long period of low, or even negative, inflation.

“There are tremendous uncertainties surrounding the economic propagation of the Covid-19 shock,” they said in