The perception of 59% of the general managers of Romanian companies is that, in 2022, the national economy will have a better evolution than last year, while the global leaders’ forecasts are that the world economy will advance by 4.5%, in this year, only if the impact of the Omicron variant will be limited and the measures implemented will ensure adequate protection against serious illnesses, according to the data of the PwC Global Economic Watch 2022 report, published on Friday.

“Optimistic forecasts for the global economy confirm the expectations of business leaders who, in the PwC Global CEO Survey, expressed their majority (77%) confidence in growth prospects for this year. At the same time, 59% of CEOs in Romanian companies believe that the national economy will have a better evolution than last year in 2022. The perception of business leaders towards the evolution of the economy is very important because it depends on investments, expansion, recruitment or salary increases,” says Dinu Bumbăcea, country managing partner PwC Romania.

According to the report, given that the new Covid-19 variant continues to cause a great deal of uncertainty, a more pessimistic scenario is being considered in which, amid an overburdening of health systems, economic activity would slow down significantly and even suffer a contraction in northern hemisphere in the first quarter. Under these conditions, the estimate is that global GDP would fall by about 0.5 percentage points compared to the initial scenario.

Forecasts warn that tighter financial conditions will follow, as central banks in advanced economies will increase their monetary policy rates and reduce their quantitative easing programs. The United States and the United Kingdom have started this process, but the effects of the Omicron variant could be delayed by a few months.

At the same time, the eurozone will maintain its “accommodative” monetary policy, as the core inflation rate is unlikely to exceed the 2% target this year.