Washington/Canberra | Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned that a “big and widening” gap between the Reserve Bank of Australia’s cash rate and other global central banks risks driving down the Australian dollar, pushing inflation higher and forcing interest rates to rise more than expected.

Speaking ahead of flying to Washington for the G20 Finance Ministers meeting and annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, Dr Chalmers said “blunt, brutal but in some ways necessary” global rate rises would push many advanced economies into recession.