The International Monetary Fund, IMF, has warned that the global economy is at risk of recession if the United States /Israel war with Iran continues and high energy prices persists.

In its World Economic Outlook Report, the IMF said in a worse case scenario where oil, gas and food prices spike and remain high this year and next, global growth could fall below 2% in 2026.

The IMF said this would mean a close call for a global recession which has happened only four times since 1980, most recently during the Covid Pandemic.

IMF Chief Economist Pierre Olivier Gourinchas outlined three scenarios: short lived conflict, adverse and severe.