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The world economy is in the shadow of war, and the warning signs are flashing

Global growth is now projected to slow to 3.1% in 2026 and 3.2% in 2027

Saudi Arabian Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan summed up the mood of many officials when he said he would not be comfortable predicting an improved outlook until tankers start moving freely through the strait again.
International

IMF, World Bank meetings show limits in mitigating shocks, reliance on US for solutions

Participants swing from gloom over a worsening global outlook to tentative optimism

European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, July 21, 2022.
International

IMF expects ECB to raise rates by half a percentage point in 2026

The ECB’s main interest rate is currently set at 2 per cent

Krishna Srinivasan, director of the IMF's Asia-Pacific department, says Asian policymakers must ensure fiscal support is timely and targeted to those most in need.
International

IMF warns of Asia’s vulnerability to war-induced energy shock

An acute hit to growth is possible if a prolonged conflict triggers supply shortages

The IMF maintains its view that Japan’s inflation will converge to the central bank’s 2 per cent target by the end of 2027, said its mission chief for Japan Rahul Anand.
International

IMF says Bank of Japan can see through inflationary shock from Iran war

[WASHINGTON] The Bank of Japan can see through inflationary pressures from the war in the Middle East as any second-round effects on broader prices will be limited, Rahul Anand, the International Mone...

Rodrigo Valdes warned of emerging risks, including a reshaping of debt markets that gives a larger role to investors such as hedge funds, who he said were “less firm hands to hold debt for the long run.”
International

IMF cautions countries against broad fuel subsidies to deal with war-driven energy shock

Targeted, temporary cash transfers that do not mask higher prices would be a far better option

World Bank chief Ajay Banga says that if the Gulf conflict lasts longer and greater needs emerge, the bank will have to turn to its balance sheet and headroom for additional funding.
International

World Bank could provide up to US$100 billion for countries hit by war

This would eclipse the US$70 billion it supplied during the Covid-19 pandemic

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva was speaking on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington.
International

IMF, World Bank and IEA aim to have calls every two weeks to assess war’s impact

IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva urged countries to avoid stockpiling oil reserves

IMF expects the policy rate is projected to gradually rise toward a neutral setting of about 1.5 per cent.
Banking & Finance

IMF expects pace of Japan's interest rate hikes to speed up slightly

Growth is projected to slow to 0.7% in 2026 and 0.6% in 2027

Overall, emerging market and developing economies, where GDP tends to be more dependent on oil inputs, take a bigger hit from the Middle East conflict than advanced economies,
Global Enterprise

IMF cuts growth outlook, warns of potential global recession if Iran war worsens

The IMF presented three growth scenarios: weaker, worse and severe, depending on how the war unfolds

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