Rosneft CEO Says Trade Wars, Sanctions Main Factors Capable of Provoking Global Recession

VERONA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th October, 2019) There are currently three key factors capable of provoking global recession, namely the US-China economic and technological rivalry, tariff wars and US sanctions against major oil producers, Igor Sechin, the CEO of Russian energy giant Rosneft, said on Thursday.

"For the first time in history, the world economy has faced the threat of three shocking factors that can provoke a global recession, namely the US economic and technological confrontation with China; trade, tariff and Currency wars; US sanctions against major oil producers," Sechin said at the Eurasian Economic Forum in Verona.

According to him, all these factors are taking place amid a weakening monetary policy and lower rates by the central banks of the largest economies.

"US unilateral actions have a serious negative impact on the global economy and lead to a loss of mutual trust, and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva has recently talked about that," Sechin added.

He recalled that over the past 12 months, growth forecasts for the global economy and trade have been revised downward by 0.2-0.4 percentage points. Several countries have had to weaken their national currencies or lower interest rates, in particular, India, Thailand and New Zealand, as well as China, which is accused by the United States of currency manipulation, he noted.

According to him, further steps to weaken national currencies increase the possibility of a global currency war with extremely unpredictable consequences.