LIVE: OECD Chief Cormann Breaks Down Energy Shock Impact On World Economy
OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann, joined by Chief Economist Stefano Scarpetta, presented the organisation’s Interim Economic Outlook, titled “Weathering Successive Shocks,” outlining how the global economy has absorbed a pandemic, an inflation surge, a tariff shock, and now an energy shock from ongoing Middle East conflicts. Cormann said global growth slowed from an annualised 3.6% in the second half of last year to 2.6% in the first half of this year, better than the OECD had projected in June, helped by quick adjustments in energy supply and demand and a surge in AI-related production and trade. However, he warned that buffers such as oil inventories and strategic reserves have thinned considerably, energy prices are climbing again, and inflation is picking back up across more than half of G20 countries. The OECD now projects global growth of 2.9% this year and 3.0% next year, with G20 inflation rising to 4.1% this year before easing in 2027. Cormann flagged four major risks — further Middle East energy supply cuts, rising food prices, growing fiscal and financial pressures from high bond yields, and uncertainty around AI investment returns — and called on governments to pursue targeted fiscal support, vigilant monetary policy, and structural reforms including energy diversification and stronger education and skills systems to boost long-term productivity and resilience.
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