IMF Chief Says Global Interest Rate Hikes Will Continue Until Next Year

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that central banks around the world are in a hurry to raise interest rate, but global inflation (inflation) will only be caught next year. She also predicted that global interest rate hikes will continue through next year.

President Kristalina Georgieva said in an interview with CNBC, an economic media outlet, on the 17th (local time).

“Supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic have created bottlenecks, and the Ukrainian war has exacerbated these shocks,” she said. As a result, the price of commodities, including key necessities such as food, fertilizer and energy, has skyrocketed.

“Central banks around the world are going one step further to control inflation,” she added.

“Right now, central banks around the world are aggressively raising interest rates, but inflation will not be caught until next year,” she said.

“Recently, international oil prices have been falling, but food prices are rising,” she said. “The food crisis is more serious than the energy crisis.”

The World Bank estimates that the food price index rose 15% in March-April, up more than 80% from two years ago.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the World (FAO) predicts that the number of malnourished people worldwide will reach 7.6 million this year and 19 million next year due to rising food prices.