INTEREST RATE HIKES SHOULD HELP PUT THE WORLD ECONOMY ON A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH PATH AS INFLATIONARY EXPECTATIONS INTENSIFY, THE HEAD OF THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND SAID ON SUNDAY, ACCORDING TO REUTERS. IMF MANAGING DIRECTOR RODRIGO RATO, ATTENDING A THREE-DAY MEETING OF AROUND 100 CENTRAL BANKERS, SAID GROWTH IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY WAS STRONG AND SHOULD REMAIN NEAR 5 PERCENT THIS YEAR AND NEXT DESPITE MONETARY TIGHTENING BY LEADING CENTRAL BANKS. "MONETARY POLICY IS BECOMING LESS ACCOMMODATIVE AND THAT IS, I THINK, A WELCOME STEP THAT WILL MAKE THE OVERALL MACROECONOMIC FRAMEWORK MORE SUSTAINABLE BUT NEVERTHELESS WILL DEMAND THAT MARKETS AND INVESTORS AND CONSUMERS ADAPT THEMSELVES TO HIGHER INTEREST RATES," RATO SAID. "THE OVERALL VIEW OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY IS ONE OF STRENGTH," HE SAID ON THE SIDELINES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING FOR THE BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS (BIS), THE BANK TO THE WORLD'S CENTRAL BANKS.
