Normalisation from Covid economic disruption to take longer in SE Asia: S&P

Normalisation from Covid-19 economic disruption is expected to take longer in India, Japan, Australia and most of southeast Asia, according to a new report by S & P Global Ratings titled 'Asia Pacific's Recovery"The pandemic is not over but the worst of its economic impact has passed," said Shaun Roache, Asia Pacific Chief Economist for S & P Global Ratings."Governments are adopting more targeted strategies for flattening Covid curves with less recourse to nationwide lockdowns. Households are spending again on services as well as goods."Covid-19 is proving hard to beat but fatality rates are falling and prospects have brightened for a widely available vaccine by mid-2021. In the meantime, people are moving and spending more, testament to a world becoming accustomed to Covid-19. Trade, for example, has bottomed.As a whole, S & P expects Asia Pacific economies to shrink by 2 per cent in 2020 and rebound by 6.9 per cent next year. This will still leave the region almost 5 per