Crude oil prices extended their slide after the International Monetary Fund reported an update to its global economic projections for this year, which deepened fears of recession. In the latest edition of its World Economic Outlook , the IMF said that global economic growth will slow from 6 percent in 2021 to 3.2 percent this year, while inflation rises from 4.7 percent to 8.8 percent this year. As a result, “Risks to the outlook remain unusually large and to the downside. Monetary policy could miscalculate the right stance to reduce inflation. Policy paths in the largest economies could continue to diverge, leading to further US dollar appreciation and cross-border tensions. More energy and food price shocks might cause inflation to persist for longer,” the Fund said. Central banks’ approach to handling inflation appears to be of particular concern to the International Monetary Fund, with the report suggesting that the […]