Traders work the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 6, 2020 in New York City. (AFP photo)

A report shows that the impacts of a new coronavirus that has spread to dozens of countries around the world could be devastating for the global economy, so that it could cause a real halt to the flow of money and goods across the nations.

The Saturday report published by the Bloomberg said that China, where coronavirus began more than two months ago, has taken a major hit from the disease as it has caused record lows for businesses like car manufacturing and air travel.

It said the impacts of coronavirus on China, where the economy has slowed by an all-time record of 1.2 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020, could reverberate across the global economy.

For the rest of the world, China matters as a source of demand, a source of supply, and a focus of concern for financial markets, said the report.

It said that the situation could worsen if China is not back on its feet quickly, adding that a recession in America, Europe and in Japan could cost the global economy around $2.7 trillion in lost gross domestic product (GDP).

The analysis said that previous forecasts by the World Bank about the impacts of a flu pandemic on the world�s economy shows that global GDP could decline by 4.8 percent as a result of such disasters, a scenario which would only be comparable to what happened after the financial crisis of 2008.

The report said that if the US economy contracts as a result of the spread of coronavirus, unemployment would move higher on the presidential election-year, something that could change the whole dynamics of the key votes which is due in November.

SOURCE: PRESS TV