Moody's made new Forecast about Pakistan's growth rate

ISLAMABAD: Moody's Investor Service has reduced its forecast for Pakistan's growth for the current fiscal year by 2.5% due to the Coronavirus, while also said that the risk to the entire Asia-Pacific region is generally Going down.

In December 2019, the New York rating agency predicted Pakistan's growth rate to be 2.9 percent.

The State Bank of Pakistan, on the other hand, estimated the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate at 3 percent, compared to 3.5 percent previously.

In his latest 'Regional Credit Outlook Update' on the effects of the Coronavirus, Moody's said the risks to the Asian Pacific are steadily declining, including the weak European and American economies.

The agency predicted that the growth rate for China was 4.8 percent, which was previously reported at 5 percent, and that this was due to a slowdown in economic activity and a decrease in export demand.

In addition, the agency said that the forecast for the Asia-Pacific region was due to the impact of the Coronavirus on recent oil prices, including travel restrictions and isolation measures.

In this regard, Vice President of Moody's Christian de Guzman said, "Our basic scenario shows a reduction in consumption levels in the first half of 2020 and continuous disruptions in production and supply, followed by a recovery in the second half of the year.

It was also reported that in the short term it was showing negative supply and demand and if the barriers were long, the risk of the global crisis was high.