Pakistan’s bid to mediate between the US and Iran has put Islamabad near the centre of efforts to defuse the Middle East conflict, but with no lasting peace yet in sight, its fragile economy is becoming increasingly exposed to the fallout from the war. While soaring oil prices and disrupted flows through the Strait of Hormuz have led to turmoil in global energy markets, analysts said Pakistan has especially limited room to absorb the blow because of its thin foreign exchange reserves, dependence...
China’s central bank chief has urged the IMF to serve as a bulwark against “rising unilateralism”, at a time when escalating trade restrictions and an intensified Middle East conflict threaten energy and food security. The International Monetary Fund should “take a clear stand against protectionism and defend multilateralism”, People’s Bank of China governor Pan Gongsheng said in a statement to the fund’s International Monetary and Financial Committee, for its 53rd meeting, held on Thursday and...
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez calls resumption of ties 'great achievement' of Venezuelan diplomacy.
The IMF said on Thursday that it was restoring relations with Venezuela, a country whose ties with the institution had been on pause since 2019. “Guided by the views of International Monetary Fund members representing a majority of the IMF’s total voting power, and consistent with long-standing practice, the Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva today announced that the IMF is now dealing with the government of Venezuela, under the administration of acting President Delcy Rodriguez,” it said in...
Higher global inflation forecast at 4.4 percent, up 0.6 points, driven by surging oil, gas and fertiliser costs.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered its global economic growth forecast, including for China, citing shocks from the US-Israeli war in Iran. In its flagship World Economic Outlook published on Tuesday, the IMF projected worldwide gross domestic product growth at 3.1 per cent this year, down 0.2 percentage points from its January estimate. China – the world’s second-largest economy – is now expected to expand by 4.4 per cent this year. That would miss the IMF’s January estimate by...
Oxfam said in a report that 59% of the IMF’s tax advice to low- and lower-middle-income countries was regressive, while 52% of its recommendations to high-income countries were progressive
Can the collective wisdom or clout of the almost 200 countries that make up the membership of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) prevail against the United States and Israel, whose rash actions of declaring war on Iran have effectively declared economic war on the whole world? We may get the answers to this critical question when the two so-called Bretton Woods institutions begin their annual meetings in Washington on April 13. The week-long gatherings provide an opportunity...
The gap between rich and poor nations is growing even wider as actions agreed to by many countries last year, including overhauling the major global financial institutions, remain unfulfilled promises, a UN report has concluded. The report assessing the blueprint adopted in Seville, Spain, last June to narrow the gap and achieve UN development goals for 2030 was issued ahead of next week’s spring meetings in Washington of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the main global...
The conflict has driven up prices of oil, natural gas, damaged refineries and other energy infrastructure.