IMF chief says higher prices are here to stay

By Nupur Anand

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Higher prices are here to stay, which adds to economic pain also stemming from slow growth and high debt, the International Monetary Fund’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, said on Monday.

“The pain we all feel because prices have gone up is here to stay, and a higher level of prices makes many people around the world quite angry too,” she said in a speech at the Bretton Woods Conference.

“We are faced with this unforgiving combination of slow growth and high debt.”

She said the world economy is performing reasonably well, but cautioned that concerns remain. “Trade is growing slightly slower than global growth,” she added.

The IMF will update its global growth forecasts on Tuesday. While Georgieva did not specify, she said growth is expected to be above 3%.

The IMF’s 2024 global real gross domestic product growth forecast is at 3.2% and for 2025 it stands at 3.3%.

She added that climate risks are hurting some countries’ economic prospects.

The IMF and World Bank annual meetings which started on Monday are expected to draw more than 10,000 people from finance ministries, central banks and civil society groups. Topics under discussion include ways to boost patchy global growth, deal with debt distress and finance the transition to green energy.