IMF
Urges Swift Action to Contain Inflation

Bangkok,
12 Oct 2026 (ONA) — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on
member states to act swiftly to contain rising inflation rates and to work
towards reducing large budget deficits.

Kristalina
Georgieva, IMF Managing Director, said during a panel discussion at the annual
meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in the Thai capital, Bangkok, that sharp
increases in defence spending are likewise driving inflation further upwards
after the energy shock caused by the military escalation in the Middle East,
which in turn places pressure on central banks to raise interest rates.

She
explained that these developments have their repercussions on developing
countries and emerging markets, which have now become affected by rising yields
in advanced economies.

The
IMF expects oil prices to continue rising through 2027, with demand remaining
strong and geopolitical risks escalating, while the Fund linked the expanding
uses of artificial intelligence to rising prices of energy, food, fertilisers
and basic industrial products around the world.

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Ends/Khalid