Recent news on vaccine development offer reason for cautious optimism, but it will take time until widespread immunity is achieved. The outlook remains largely dependent on the evolution of the health crisis, which is likely to continue to weigh on global economic activity well into the next year.
The response of central banks, supervisory authorities and governments in the majority of countries has been extraordinary since the early stages of the crisis. Central banks have implemented a wide array of instruments, including new asset purchase programmes and liquidity facilities, to make monetary conditions more expansionary, counter the tensions in financial markets and support the essential provision of credit to households and firms.