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After a week hosting the International Monetary Fund’s annual gathering of economic leaders, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva summed it up for the 190 member countries: “Buckle up, and keep going.”
As the talks ended in Washington on Saturday, finance ministers and central bankers seeking to sustain the world economy’s shaky recovery from the pandemic worried Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to destabilize Europe and stymies efforts to boost growth.
But the stalwarts of the post-World War II global order also took a scalding.
The UK’s whiplash on tax cuts — which rattled markets and led to the ouster of Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng midway through the gathering — and the US Federal Reserve’s dollar-boosting interest-rate hikes also dominated discussions.
Members of the group also sparred over Saudi Arabia’s decision to lead an OPEC+ oil output cut, which was seen risky as Europe struggles with an energy crisis and the US tries to rein in the hottest inflation in four decades.
Doug Rediker, a former IMF executive board member, noted a lack of high-level engagement from China, the second-biggest economy and top creditor to developing countries, “stymied the ability to make actual progress.”
“It was an overall fairly pessimistic week,” he said.
Here is a rundown of the key takeaways:
War, Fragmentation
Similar to the IMF’s spring meetings in April, the G-20 failed to issue a communique given the split on Russia.
Russia also prevented the IMF’s advisory body from reaching consensus over a joint readout.
