Guardian - World Bank forecasts slowdown in global growth as rising commodity prices hit poorest nations
The Bank said high oil prices and production shortfalls caused by bad weather had led to higher food prices. Poor people, who spend a high proportion of their income on food, had been particularly hard hit. "A poor harvest during the 2011/12 crop year, or a second substantial increase in oil prices, could cause domestic food prices in developing countries to rise much higher, with dire consequences for poverty," the Bank said. - World Bank.
Justin Yifu Lin, the Bank's chief economist, said: "Further increases in already high oil and food prices could significantly curb economic growth and hurt the poor."