2019 : shrouded in uncertainty
GDP forecast updates by international institutions (IMF, European Commission) and private institutions ( Consensus Forecast, Natixis) paint much the same picture f or the outlook for 2019. All point to a more pronounced slowdown in growth than had been expected before . That said , the latest downward revisions were modest, while growth forecasts present a particularly low dispersion. All these scenarios are based on conservative assumptions, but even so may appear optimistic considering risks that are shrouding the outlook. T hese risks hav e propelled the World Economic Policy Uncertainty Index to record highs at the end of last year. Historically, the level of uncertainty is a key, not to say a self-fulfilling factor , in shaping the growth outlook. We consider below recent developments concerning economic policy uncertainty, its cause and its impacts. While growth forecasts make abstraction of contingencies, changes in non-resident investor flows very much reflect the risk geography.