LONDON (Reuters) - The coronavirus outbreak will see a 2% recession in the euro zone this year, S&P Global estimated on Thursday, warning that the contraction could be as much as 10% if the current lockdowns in the 19-country region last as long as four months.
With the economic costs “mounting quickly as measures to contain the virus increase... the eurozone and U.K. economies are now facing a recession of -2% for 2020,” the ratings agency said in a new report.
Risks are still to the downside, however. “For example, we estimate a lockdown of four months could lower eurozone GDP by up to 10% this year,” S&P said.
Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Dhara Ranasinghe
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