April’s Historic Economic Plunge Points to Steep Climb for the World Economy

LONDON—Economic numbers coming in from about the globe are laying bare a stark truth: April was the cruelest month.

Coronavirus-driven lockdowns implemented in countries world-large were being at their strictest then, and drove a international contraction that has very little parallel in background. The depth of the decline will make the climb back again far more hard, and it suggests that even a sharp preliminary rebound could leave the international financial system smaller sized than it was right before the pandemic.

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