IMF warns higher borrowing costs are straining public finances worldwide
Por Tim Yuen Lingk — South China Morning Post – News feed
Advertisement Global monetary policy Business Banking & Finance IMF warns higher borrowing costs are straining public finances worldwide
Higher bond yields raise debt-servicing costs and increase fiscal pressure across advanced and emerging economies, global lender says
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Tim Yuen Lingk Published: 10:00am, 14 Oct 2026 Rising sovereign debt and borrowing costs have prompted a fresh warning from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about risks to the fiscal health of member countries , with 24-year highs in US Treasury yields expected to become one of the focal topics for central bankers and finance ministers gathering in Bangkok this week.
The average yield on 10-year government bonds across the Group of Seven economies increased by more than 1 percentage point between February and September this year, reaching its highest level in nearly two decades, according to an IMF blog post on Wednesday.
The US , France , Japan and other advanced economies have drawn attention in recent weeks as government bond yields climbed to multi-year highs, fuelling concerns about rising debt and spillover effects on emerging markets, a theme likely to feature at the IMF-World Bank annual meetings. “Higher borrowing costs are adding to fiscal pressures at a time of high debt , making credible consolidation more urgent,” wrote Rodrigo Valdes, chief of the IMF’s fiscal affairs department, and deputy head Era Dabla-Norris. Select Voice Select Speed 0.8x 0.9x 1.0x 1.1x 1.2x 1.5x 1.75x 00:00 00:00 1x AI-generated voice
