WASHINGTON, March 30. /TASS/. Persistence of high energy and food prices could trigger inflation worldwide, a new study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says. The study analyzes the impact of the US-Israeli military operation against Iran on energy, trade, and finance.

"If elevated energy and food prices persist, they will fuel inflation worldwide. Historically, sustained oil-price spikes have tended to push inflation higher and growth lower. Over time, higher transport and input costs work their way into the prices of manufactured goods and services," the study says.

"For many countries that had only just brought inflation closer to target, and even more so those with stickier inflation, this risks a renewed period of uncomfortable price pressures," the IMF experts stress.

As they also note, the US and Israeli war with Iran could lead to shortages of other materials used in industry. In particular it concerns exports of helium, needed, for example, for the production of semiconductors and medical equipment, from the Persian Gulf countries, and nickel from Indonesia. The latter is due to the risk that Indonesia could face a shortage of sulfur, which is required for nickel processing.