• Countries experiencing second and third waves of Covid-19 noted sober gross domestic product (GDP) numbers in Q4
  
• Vaccine rollout to power economic recovery in 2021, states the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
  
• The energy index further grew in double digits in January, driven by higher crude oil prices

Hanging tough between vaccine rollouts and new (and perhaps more virulent) strains of the Covid-19 virus, global growth is holding on – just. While vaccineadministration programs are under way across the world, major advanced economies in Europe, parts of East Asia and the United States (US) are still struggling withnew waves of infections and reinstated lockdowns.

The IMF echoed the global reality, stating that, although the recent vaccine approvals have raised hopes of a turnaround, renewed waves and new variants ofthe virus pose concerns (IMF, January 2021). However, the agency revised up its forecast 0.3 percentage point (pp), and projected the global economy to expand5.5% in 2021 on hopes of vaccine-powered growth and policy support from some large economies.