IMF chief warns natural gas disruptions could trigger recession in Europe

The global economic outlook remains extremely uncertain, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday. Picture: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg.

The global economic outlook remains extremely uncertain, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday, warning that further disruption in the natural gas supply to Europe could plunge many economies into recession.

In a blog published ahead of this week's meeting of finance officials from the Group of 20 major economies, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Russia's war in Ukraine had darkened the economic outlook significantly, and the IMF was poised to downgrade its outlook for 2022 and 2023.