Davos elites see commodity price bottom

Australia’s transition from its biggest-ever resources boom will confront an extended period of subdued and low-yield global economic growth, a bumpy outlook for China, continued financial market volatility and a new threat of political populism personified by Donald Trump that could undermine the established international norms of globalisation.While commodity prices have probably bottomed, the central scenario of ”lower for longer” global economic growth will leave the global system more vulnerable to systemic shocks that could sharpen Australia’s strategic challenges.

The annual global gathering of policy-making, business and community elites held by the Australian Davos Connection on Queensland’s Hayman Island on the weekend wrestled with the repeated dashing of International Monetary Fund economic growth forecasts since the global financial crisis in 2008. An isolated contrarian view suggested the global economy cycle may have reached an upward turning point in the first few months of 2016. And a sizeable minority challenged the economists’ fears of a new era of ”secular stagnation” even amid the US-led technology revolution.