Inflation in some countries 'getting out of control': IMF chief

Inflation in some emerging countries ‘is getting out of control’ and higher interest rates may be required to rein in prices, International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn said Wednesday.

Inflation is now the biggest threat to the global economy, he told reporters on the sidelines of a summit of the Group of Eight rich nations in northern Japan.

"In some emerging countries and in some low income countries inflation is getting out of control. That means that monetary policy has probably to be tightened," he said.

He did not say which countries he was referring to but indicated that it included some nations in Latin America and Africa.

"The growth question is important but inflation is probably today the biggest threat to the world economy," the IMF chief said.