Inflation-fighting rate hikes could increase rich-poor divide, IMF's Georgieva warns

IMF MD Kristalina Georgieva

WASHINGTON: Central banks' interest rate hikes aimed at combating inflation could exacerbate a deepening, "dangerous divergence" between advanced and developing economies, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva (pic) said Wednesday.

Inflation is not a universal phenomenon, Georgieva noted, but was a problem in a number of countries and especially the United States. U.S. consumer prices https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-consumer-prices-increase-strongly-december-2022-01-12 surged 7% in the 12 months to December, the largest annual increase in nearly four decades.