UN Forecast:

UNCTAD (the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) has published a report on the prospects for the global economy.

Global economic growth in 2021 may reach 4.7% compared to last year. The authors of the study recall that these figures are higher than previous forecasts (4.3%), which were discussed in September.

The improvement in expectations, they said, is due to a stronger recovery in the United States, which has seen progress in the use of coronavirus vaccines and recently announced $1.9 trln in economic stimulus measures.

At the same time, experts estimate that by the end of 2021, the world economy will not reach more than $10 trln, which it could receive if the growth trends that took place in the world before coronavirus pandemic continue.

The authors of the report draw attention to the continuing "weakness of multilateral cooperation" in the world and the lack of desire to "address the problems of inequality", which worsens the prospects for successful development.

Note that the main US stock exchanges on Wednesday rose by 0.3-0.6% on the background of the results of the Federal Reserve meeting.

The US Federal Reserve has significantly improved its forecasts for the country's economy – this year GDP growth may reach 6.5%, while the December forecast suggested an increase of 4.2%.

At the same time, the central bank expects that the unemployment rate in the United States should fall to 4.5% against 5.0% in the previous forecast, and inflation, respectively, will rise to 2.4% from 1.8%.

Brent crude oil prices continued their downward trend on Wednesday, reaching $ 67.8 per barrel (-0.9%) by the close of trading.

The commodity market remains under pressure amid the continued growth of raw materials stocks in the United States. According to the independent agency within the US federal statistical system, the EIA (Energy Information Administration), commercial oil reserves in the US last week increased by 2.4 million barrels and reached 500.8 million barrels.

Meanwhile, the recovery of global oil demand to pre-crisis levels will not occur until 2023, according to the forecast of the International Energy Agency (IEA).