IMF raises UK growth forecast and backs Reeves’s deficit reduction plans; bonds recover after sell-off – as it happened

Economy The Guardian By Graeme Wearden 18 May 2026 15:43 1 min read

International Monetary Fund says ‘Staying the course on deficit reduction will be important’ for the UK, in annual assessment of the economy IMF urges UK to ‘stay the course’ on borrowing amid Starmer uncertainty The head of the International Monetary Fund has said that a sell-off in global bond markets was reflecting the impact of higher oil prices. IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva was speaking as she arrived for a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Paris, Reuters reports. “A combin

International Monetary Fund says ‘Staying the course on deficit reduction will be important’ for the UK, in annual assessment of the economy

IMF urges UK to ‘stay the course’ on borrowing amid Starmer uncertainty

The head of the International Monetary Fund has said that a sell-off in global bond markets was reflecting the impact of higher oil prices.

IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva was speaking as she arrived for a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Paris, Reuters reports.

“A combination of political turmoil and renewed gains for oil has been kryptonite for hopes of a new FTSE 100 rally.

Of course, the selling has not been confined to the UK, and continental indices are registering heavier losses as oil lurches higher once again. The market rally is rapidly coming to grips with the reality of the situation in the Middle East and in the global oil market, and it is not going to be pretty.”

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