IMF chief urges aggressive fight against soaring inflation

By PAUL WISEMAN
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The managing director of the International Monetary Fund urged global policymakers to stop inflation from becoming “a runaway train″ at a time of extraordinary economic turmoil. The IMF’s Kristalina Georgieva noted that the world economy “has been hit by one shock after another″ — the coronavirus pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a resurgence of inflation. But reining in rising prices should take priority, she said. “If we do not restore price stability, we will undermine prospects for growth,″ she said. The Federal Reserve and other central banks have been raising interest rates to tame inflation. Georgieva acknowledged that the higher borrowing costs would pinch economic growth, but she urged policymakers to show restraint in spending money to ease the pain.