IMF sees cost of COVID pandemic rising beyond $12.5 trillion estimate

WASHINGTON – The International Monetary Fund expects to raise its forecast that the COVID-19 pandemic will cost the global economy $12.5 trillion through 2024, the head of the global lender said on Thursday.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told an event hosted by the Financial Times that supply chain disruptions, inflation and tighter monetary policy were “throwing cold water on the recovery everywhere.”

She said huge gaps in COVID-19 vaccine rates and the overall widening divergence between rich and poor caused by the pandemic, along with learning losses and increased gender impacts, would cause more protests, tensions and insecurity.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal)