WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) - International Monetary

Fund Chief Economist said on Tuesday that a wider conflict

between Israel and Iran would likely lead to higher energy

prices, which would in turn prompt central banks to tighten

monetary policy to control inflation, hurting growth.

Gourinchas told a news conference that an "adverse scenario"

in the IMF's World Economic Outlook shows that a 15% increase in

global oil prices due to a wider Middle East conflict, along

with higher shipping costs to avoid Red Sea attacks, would

likely increase global inflation by 0.7 percentage point.