International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva said the biggest growth downgrades will come in economies ravaged by war. (EPA Images pic)

SINGAPORE: The global economy is under threat from persistently high energy prices, record public debt and risks from the AI investment boom, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warned on Wednesday, urging governments to take protective fiscal and monetary policy measures.

In a speech previewing IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings next week in Bangkok, Georgieva said the world was being pulled in two directions -- a negative energy supply shock from the Middle East conflicts and a positive demand shock from artificial intelligence that is also fuelling inflation.