Fertilizer, food, and resource scarcity also harm developing countries, the World Bank's chief added.
Digital Desk: The World Bank's chief, David Malpass, has warned that Russia's military invasion of Ukraine might trigger a financial meltdown as food, gasoline, and fertilizer prices rise. Reportedly, he made the statements while speaking at a US business gathering on Wednesday. "Looking at global GDP, it's difficult to see how we can escape a recession right now... The mere thought of oil costs doubling is enough to send the economy into a tailspin," Malpass said in the latest warning about the mounting possibility that the global economy may be set to shrink.
Earlier this month, the World Bank slashed its global economic growth prediction for this year by nearly a full percentage point, to 3.2 percent. Malpass also added that many European countries, are still excessively reliant on Russia for oil and gas, even as Western countries go forward with measures to minimize their reliance on Russian energy.
Moreover, during a virtual event hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce, he said that measures by Russia to reduce gas supplies might cause a "significant slowdown" in the region.
Further, he claimed that rising energy prices were already dragging on Germany, the largest economy in Europe and the fourth largest in the world.
Fertilizer, food, and resource scarcity also harm developing countries, the World Bank's chief added.
Malpass also expressed alarm about lockdowns in some of China's key cities, including Shanghai, the country's financial, manufacturing, and shipping powerhouse, which are "still having repercussions or slowing impacts on the world.
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