Downside risks for Europe from a drop in global trade
Global trade activity will drop significantly in the coming weeks , as the effect of the coronavirus on economic activity in many parts of the world will become more visible . Consequently, the downside risks for Europe via lower global trade are growing too. In order to get a better sense of these downside risks, we simulate the response of euro area growth to a sharp drop in global trade. The media n forecast in that scenario shows a decline in GDP by 0.6% qoq in Q2 , while it could drop as much as 4% with 5% probability . While th e median forecast still looks manageable, our simulations signify the overall fragility of the economy at this stage.