Washington (AFP) – With inflation rising sharply, and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates, the United States is facing an increased risk of a downturn, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Friday. But any temporary pain caused by a recession would be “a necessary price to pay” to defeat damaging inflation, she said. The Washington-based crisis lender again slashed its US growth forecast to 2.9 percent, from the 3.7 percent forecast in April, which was cut from the rate predicted at the start of the year. The world’s largest economy rebounded strongly from the pandemic downtur…