IMF’s Lipsky sees risks to 2008 global growth

There is a risk global growth could come in below the IMF's forecast of 4.1% for 2008, the fund's First Deputy Managing Director John Lipksy told Reuters on Wednesday, saying inflation and commodity and energy prices remained a threat.
"There's always a risk, but we really haven't sat down and finalized (our growth forecasts)," Lipsky told Reuters on a visit to Chile to attend a seminar on sovereign wealth funds.
"There's obviously the threat of the continuation of the impact of high commodity and energy prices, financial turmoil, inflation afflicting important countries and the continuation of significant global imbalances, although those are moving in a positive direction," he added.
The International Monetary Fund has forecast the world economy will grow 4.1% this year, but is due to refresh its forecasts in October and a G20 finance official said last month the IMF had downgraded its forecast to 3.9%.