The global economy will suffer a hit to growth and higher inflation this year as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the IMF said on Tuesday.

In its World Economic Outlook, the fund said prospects had “worsened significantly” with countries closest to the war likely to be hardest hit. But it warned that risks had intensified everywhere, raising the chances of even lower growth and more rapid price rises, and upending the fund’s view that there would be a stronger recovery from the pandemic this year.

The IMF’s forecasts showed global growth of gross domestic product this year of 3.6 per cent, down 0.8 percentage points since the fund’s January projections and 1.3 percentage points lower compared with six months ago. In 2021, global growth was estimated at 6.1 per cent, the fund said.