This post was originally published on this site
The coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns have led to unprecedented pain for the global economy.
In the U.S., the unemployment rate skyrocketed to nearly 15% as purchasing managers indexes across the globe skidded to record lows. As countries now loosen restrictions, here’s a look at which economies are the most open.
The chart was produced by Deutsche Bank using the Google mobility data that measures traffic against historical patterns. Of the world’s major economies — with China notably excluded as Google’s services are banned there — Japan and the U.S. are the most open.
Spain, France and Italy, all of which were hit hard by the virus and have the most deaths per capita, are among the most shut.
The least affected economy measured, Taiwan, is still relatively closed down. And even as countries increasingly permit activity, consumers are still wary of going out with the virus still spreading.
Deutsche Bank also noted that Apple data on driving direction requests in the U.S. was just 7% lower last week than the middle of January. Driving direction requests had fallen as much as 62.5% during the crisis.
According to the Johns Hopkins tracker based on government reports, there have been over 4 million confirmed coronavirus cases, leading to 286,355 deaths.
The S&P 500 SPX, +0.01% has rallied 31% from the lows of March, though it is still down 9% this year.