Global Outlook: War Inflation to Spark Higher Interest Rates

Global Outlook: War Inflation to Spark Higher Interest Rates

From CommBank View: Economics & Markets by LiSTNR

April 7, 2026 · 29 min · Season 2 · Episode 5

About this episode

The episode discusses the impact of the Middle East conflict on global economic growth and interest rates.

The global economy is facing a new wave of uncertainty, but how much will the Middle East conflict slow growth and push interest rates higher? Host Mandy Drury speaks with CommBank Head of Foreign Exchange, International & Geoeconomics Joseph Capurso about the impact of the conflict on the global outlook, with growth now expected to come in below trend over the next two years. From rising energy prices to uneven impacts across major economies, they explore why Europe, the UK and Japan are more exposed, while the US, China and Canada may prove more resilient. Joseph explains how the surge in oil and gas prices is feeding into inflation, raising the risk that central banks will need to tighten policy further. He also outlines which economies and industries are most exposed to higher energy costs, and what it could mean for households, businesses and the path for global interest rates. Plus, CommBank’s Senior Economist Ryan Felsman shares the key focuses for markets in the week ahead. Important Information This podcast is approved and distributed by Global Economic & Markets Research (“GEMR”), a business division of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48…

People in this episode

Host: Mandy Drury

Guest: Joseph Capurso

Topics covered

  • global economy
  • interest rates
  • inflation
  • energy prices
  • geoeconomics
  • market outlook

Keywords

  • war inflation
  • interest rates
  • global outlook
  • energy costs
  • central banks
  • economic growth

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CommBank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Places: Middle East, Europe, UK, Japan, US, China, Canada

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