Bangkok:The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged member countries to take rapid actions to control increasing inflation rates and to work on reducing substantial budget deficits.
According to Oman News Agency, Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF Managing Director, highlighted during a panel discussion at the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in Bangkok that significant increases in defense spending are exacerbating inflation. This situation comes in the wake of an energy shock triggered by military escalations in the Middle East, which is pressuring central banks to consider raising interest rates.
Georgieva noted that these circumstances are having an impact on developing nations and emerging markets, which are now feeling the effects of rising yields in more advanced economies.
The IMF has projected that oil prices will continue their upward trajectory through 2027, driven by sustained demand and growing geopolitical tensions. The organization also linked the broader application of artificial intelligence to the increasing costs of energy, food, fertilizers, and basic industrial goods globally.
