BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 16. Inflation remains
elevated at around 8% on average, and uneven buffers leave the
region exposed to tighter global financial conditions, said Jihad
Azour, Director of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia
Department, at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) media
roundtable, Trend
reports.
"Inflation remains elevated at around 8% on average, and uneven
buffers leave the region exposed to tighter global financial
conditions. This is a moment for carefully calibrated responses
that protect the model without providing medium-term stability.
Governments should allow automatic stabilizers to operate and
deploy targeted temporary support for affected households," he
said.
Azour emphasized that those should be financed through
reprioritized spending rather than expanding deficits.
"Broad-few subsidies should not be reinstated or expanded.
Central bank, facing persistent inflation, particularly where
policy stance remains accommodative, should maintain or tighten
restrictive positions. Financial supervisors much sharper
oversight, liquidity, and foreign currency mismatch, and stand
ready to deploy backstops," he added.
