Energy price shock puts governments under growing fiscal pressure: UN Report

New Delhi, Oct 2 (UNI) Governments across the world are facing mounting difficulty in protecting households from soaring energy and food costs as the economic fallout from the Iran war, high borrowing costs and extreme weather puts pressure on public finances, according to a new United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report. The UNDP said government spending on fuel subsidies could exceed $1 trillion this year as countries expand measures such as price controls, subsidies and tax rebates to limit the impact of higher energy prices on consumers. The report warned that governments could find it increasingly difficult to sustain such…