The Coronavirus outbreak in China, which is the world’s second-largest economy by GDP, took everyone by surprise. So far, about 77, 150 cases of infection have been confirmed in the country, with 2,592 reported deaths. The disease has also spread beyond China to other Asian countries, countries in the Middle East, Europe, and even North Africa. Many now fear this might soon become a pandemic.
Asides the infections and the deaths, another thing that has left many people worried about the Coronavirus outbreak is the negative economic impacts it has wrought on China and elsewhere.
the virus is partly responsible for pushing oil prices below the $57 per barrel benchmark on which Nigeria based its ambitious N10.6 trillion 2020 budget. This is because many Chinese factories have been shut down for weeks, thereby cutting down on the country’s energy demands.
Now, an inactive Chinese economy means that fewer products are being produced, and because the country cannot produce as many goods as it used to, it also cannot export as much as it used to.
This, of course, has direct impact on countries like Nigeria that depends heavily on Chinese imports.