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The drop in oil prices will provide a net boost to the global economy while posing risks for oil exporting nations and individual exporters of raw materials including Russia, Iran and Venezuela, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Monday.
The IMF, with its headquarters in Washington, is known for putting first world interests ahead of developing countries.
“There will be winners and losers, but on a net basis it’s good news for the global economy,” she said in Washington, and added that while some exporters are hurting from the price fall, overall it will add significantly to global growth as consumers and businesses pay less for energy.
“It’s likely to be an additional 0.8 percent (growth) for most advanced economies, because all of them are importers of oil, whether you look at the U.S, Japan, certainly Europe and China,” she said.
Last month Venezuela's foreign minister Rafael Ramirez discussed with Russian officials ways to combat the drop in prices. Both countries agreed to work together in order to tackle the issue.
Oil prices dropped last week after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to maintain its production quotas, rather than lowering its output target.
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