Imf Warns Israel to Reduce Inflation if It is to Avoid Economic Disaster

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned Israel to give urgent priority to reducing inflation if it is to avoid economic disaster.

An IMF delegation which visited Israel several months ago to study the economy made that recommendation, among others, in a report released last Thursday. It said that the present triple digit inflation rate posed a serious threat to the continued functioning of the economy and should be attacked immediately, not by the gradual approach taken by the present economic leadership.

Officials here insisted nevertheless that the government’s economic program is, for the most part, in harmony with the IMF’s recommendations. They said they were not surprised by the IMF’s report because it coincided with the delegation’s initial summary of its findings given to the government before the delegates left Israel.