Brexit takes centre stage at G20 summit

AS the G20 summit in China draws to an end, finance chiefs have stated that the UK’s recent decision to withdraw from the European Union has created a heightened risk for the world economy. The consensus among the group of the 20 most powerful economies in the world was that Brexit has undeniably resulted in “uncertainty” for the global economy.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond noted that the subject had been given repeated and extensive focus over the course of the two-day talks, which took place on Saturday (July 23) and Sunday (July 24) in the city of Chengdu, China.  The Chancellor conceded that uncertainty is undeniable moving forward as Britain continues in its negotiations with the EU.

That being said, the G20 group has indicated that it is confident in its ability to cope with any economic and financial impact that may arise as a result of the fallout from Brexit.

The group also observed that Brexit is far from the only current factor with the potential to cause upheaval in the world economy, and drew attention to geopolitical conflicts, terrorism and the on-going refugee crisis as other primary concerns.

President of Germany’s central bank, Jens Weidmann, stated that as of yet, there are no clear indicators that the result of the UK referendum has had an impact on development in Europe.

The G20 also agreed that the global economy as a whole is on track to improve throughout the remainder of 2016 and going forward into 2017.