India can ride out Gaza war impact on crude: IMF ED KV Subramanian
India should be able to tide over the spike in crude oil prices due to the latest conflict in Gaza, International Monetary Fund executive director KV Subramanian noted, saying that the development for the global economy meant more uncertainty.
«As it is even before this particular incident there was uncertainty, one because of the high levels of debt in many economies together with elevated commodity prices because of the war in Ukraine. On top of that this adds uncertainty, which may impact, I think, the global growth, possibly, in an even more negative manner,» he told ET on the sidelines of the ongoing annual International Monetary Fund and World Bank meeting here.
Crude oil prices jumped 4% soon after the conflict broke out.
The former chief economic advisor said India's situation was far better. «We handled the pandemic in a much better way, we were the only country to identify early on that Covid is going to be a big supply-side shock and, therefore, we balanced supply side measures, with very carefully targeted demand side measures,» he said, adding that as a result the country emerged with strong growth and strong macroeconomic fundamentals.
«So, overall, I think this is something that India will be able to tide over,» he said.
However, he said, a higher price of crude oil may mean some more measures to be taken on the inflation side.
