IMF Urges Countries to Act Quickly to Tackle Inflation

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Monday that member countries must act quickly if they detect a rise in inflation rates and work to reduce large budget deficits.

Speaking during a discussion session at the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings, which began today in Bangkok, she noted that sharp increases in defense spending are also pushing inflation higher following the energy shock caused by the war in the Middle East, thereby placing pressure on central banks to raise interest rates.

She pointed out that these developments have had repercussions for developing countries and emerging markets, stating that they have now become "victims of rising returns in advanced economies."

Financial officials from around the world are gathering in Thailand this week amid an expanding war in the Middle East, a massive and unprecedented shock to energy supplies, and rising interest rates, to attend the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings, held outside Washington for the first time in three years.

Among the most notable absentees will be US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who sent senior officials in his place due to some "domestic commitments," according to a US official.