The US economy will slide into recession this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.
It has also forecast slow growth for Ireland in its World Economic Outlook published this afternoon.
The twin evils of the housing collapse and financial crisis in the US are big risks to the global economy, according to the IMF.
It says the US will experience a mild recession this year.
It predicts it will only recover modestly in 2009 when financial institutions and households resolve their problems.
But the organisation is also concerned about rising prices for oil, food and metals.
It says prices for those commodities are up 44% over the past 12 months.
It says the Irish economy will grow by less than 2% this year, which is in line with the Central Bank and the ESRI's forecasts.
The IMF says inflation here ease to about 2% next year.
