Singapore, October 07 (QNA) - International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warned Wednesday that the global economy is grappling with threats, including a persistent spike in energy prices, record public debt and risks from the AI investment boom, urging governments to enforce protective fiscal and monetary policy measures.

In a speech ahead of next week's IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Georgieva said the world was being pulled in two directions: a negative energy supply shock stemming from conflicts and a positive demand shock from AI that is also fueling inflation.

The combined impact of these two forces is highly uneven across the world, she said, adding that the AI boom was bypassing many countries.

Georgieva said the IMF's new growth forecasts, to be released during the Bangkok meetings, will show that the biggest growth downgrades will come in economies ravaged by war. These include Ukraine, which has suffered significant damage to its civilian and economic infrastructure.

Georgieva said oil prices remain at USD100 a barrel, with impaired refining capacity adding another USD100 in crack-spread margins per barrel for key products, including diesel. She noted that Brent crude oil futures point to higher oil prices through 2027.

She said higher energy prices are driving up inflation, policy rates and bond yields, noting that 10-year sovereign bond yields in the United States, Germany and Japan have now reached their highest levels since 2007, 2009 and 1996, respectively, and continue to climb. (QNA)