Rate hikes could deepen global economic divergence, IMF chief says

YEREVAN, January 13, /ARKA/. Interest rate hikes aimed at tackling inflation could exacerbate the “dangerous” and “deepened” divergence in economic developments between advanced and developing economies, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday, according to news reports.
Georgieva said inflation was not a universal phenomenon, but was a problem in a number of countries and particularly in the United States, where US consumer prices jumped 7% in the 12 months, the largest annual increase in nearly four decades.
Georgieva told an event hosted by the Center for Global Development that the Federal Reserve and other central banks know how to manage inflation, but it could be a tricky balancing act, and “the impact on emerging markets … can add fuel to the fire of divergence”.
Georgieva said in December the IMF was likely to downgrade global economic growth forecasts of 5.9percent in 2021 and 4.9percent this year due to slowing growth in the United States, China, and the Omicron variant.-0-