Surging Energy Prices May Not Ease Until Next Year
Soaring natural gas prices are rippling through global energy markets—and other economic sectors from factories to utilities.
Managing the Political Economy of Climate Change Policies
By Davide Furceri, Michael Ganslmeier, and Jonathan D. Ostry
Few issues have sparked more attention than how to avoid environmental and human catastrophe from climate change. […]
Building an Inclusive Recovery in the Middle East and Central Asia
By Jihad Azour and Joyce Wong
Countries in the Middle East and Central Asia face with COVID-19 a public health emergency unlike any seen in our lifetime, along with an unprecedented economic downturn. […]
Outlook for the Americas: A Tougher Recovery
July 23, 2018
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Street vendors in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: While growth is accelerating in some parts of Latin America, the recovery has become tougher for some of the largest economies (photo: Oliver Wintzen/Robert Harding/Newscom)
Economic activity in Latin America continues to recover. Following the pickup in domestic demand led by consumption in 2017, investment is finally gathering strength. […]
Shifting Tides: Policy Challenges and Opportunities for the G-20
July 18, 2018
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Cars to be shipped abroad, Jiangsu, China: trade tariffs have gone into effect and export orders have decreased (photo: Imagine China/Newscom)
The artist Claude Monet once said, “I worked without stopping, for the tide at this moment is just as I need it.” As the Group of Twenty finance ministers gather this week at the banks of the Rio de la Plata in Buenos Aires they should be inspired by the words of Monet, […]
The Global Expansion: Still Strong but Less Even, More Fragile, Under Threat
July 16, 2018
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The escalation of trade tensions is the greatest near-term threat to global growth (photo: wildpixel/Getty Images by iStock)
Amid rising tensions over international trade, the broad global expansion that began roughly two years ago has plateaued and become less balanced. […]
Chart of the Week: Oil Prices & Energy Subsidies
By IMFBlog
November 27, 2017
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Universal fuel and energy subsidies have been prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, but they have substantial drawbacks (photo: Reuters/Newscom).
Reforms in some mostly oil-exporting countries, along with lower international fuel prices since 2014, have reduced the size of fuel subsidies in sub-Saharan Africa, and they need to do more given the recent rise in international fuel prices.
Universal fuel and energy subsidies have been prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, but they have substantial drawbacks. They tend to benefit the rich rather than the poor, foster fuel overconsumption, and crowd out more productive government spending. […]
A Common Cause for Sustainable Growth and Stability in Central Africa
August 1, 2017
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Woman with a machete in Bafut, Cameroon: Six countries in Central Africa have a strategy to turn their economies around, with help from the IMF (photo: Heiner Heine/imageBroker/Newscom)
Six countries in central Africa have been hit hard by the collapse in commodity prices. Oil prices dropped, economic growth stalled, public debt rose, and foreign exchange reserves declined. A delayed response from policymakers, and a regional conflict have worsened the situation further for people in the region.
The countries of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community are Gabon, Cameroon, Chad, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, and Equatorial Guinea. They share a common currency—the CFA franc—that is pegged to the euro, and have a common central bank that holds the region’s pool of foreign exchange reserves. […]
OPEC’s Rebalancing Act
By Rabah Arezki and Akito Matsumoto
Versions in عربي (Arabic), Français (French), Русский (Russian), and Español (Spanish)
In November 2014, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to maintain output despite a perceived global glut of oil. The result was a steep decline in price.
Two years later, on November 30, 2016, the organization took a different tack and committed to a six-month, 1.2 million barrel a day (3.5 percent) reduction in OPEC crude oil output to 32.5 million barrels per day, effective in January 2017. The result was a small price increase and some price stability. […]
A "New Normal" for the Oil Market
By Rabah Arezki and Akito Matsumoto
Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Русский (Russian), and Español (Spanish)
While oil prices have stabilized somewhat in recent months, there are good reasons to believe they won’t return to the high levels that preceded their historic collapse two years ago. For one thing, shale oil production has permanently added to supply at lower prices. For another, demand will be curtailed by slower growth in emerging markets and global efforts to cut down on carbon emissions. It all adds up to a “new normal” for oil.