IMF Warns of $80 Oil by Christmas

The world economy could be plunged into recession by soaring oil prices or a sudden collapse in the dollar, the International Monetary Fund warned yesterday.

The world’s financial watchdog said there was a one in five chance that crude prices could hit $80 a barrel by Christmas – surpassing, in real terms, the prices witnessed during the 1970s oil crisis. The IMF toughened up its language on the danger posed by the imbalances between the economies of the West and the powerhouse regions of Asia and China, unusually using the world “recession” in its key forecast document.
The Independent