the international monetary fund imf logo is seen outside the headquarters building in washington us september 4 2018 reutersyuri gripasfile photo washington feb 16 reuters  headline inflation has moved above central bank targets in most group of 20 economies despite weaker growth momentum and remains a significant risk but rising prices should moderate gradually in most economies this year the imf said wednesday the international monetary fund said inflation had continued to surprise on the upside mainly due to rising commodity and shipping prices continued mismatches in supply and demand and shifting demand for more goods but longerterm inflation expectations remained generally wellanchored in economies with strong policy frameworks the global lender said in a surveillance note prepared for a meeting of g20 finance ministers and central bankers this week the imf said downside risks continued to dominate and economic indicators released after it downgraded its forecast for global growth by half a percentage point to 44 in january pointed to weak growth momentum read more renewed mobility restrictions in the euro area japan and britain had weakened servicesector activity in recent months while the spread of the coronavirus had dented consumer sentiment in the united states imf staff estimated that supply disruptions had likely subtracted between 05 and 1 percentage point from global gross domestic product growth in 2021 and lifted core inflation by 1 percentage point the imf said the potential emergence of new and dangerous variants of the covid19 virus could drag down economic activity supplydemand mismatches could also take longer to resolve than expected weighing on output and fueling wage inflation which in term could prompt an earlierthanexpected tightening of monetary policy in major advanced economies especially in the united states the worlds largest economy the imf said this could dampen the global growth outlook lead to a sudden tightening of financial conditions and prompt capital outflows from emerging market economies the imf said noting the added risk posed by alreadyhigh debt levels chinas economy the worlds second largest could see growth slow further if it ran into further problems in its real estate market private consumption did not recover and a widespread covid19 outbreak caused further disruption it warned central banks in emerging market economies should be prepared for adverse shocks if inflation continues to rise in major economies and they adopted steeperthanexpected interest rate increases the fund said