An International Monetary Fund (IMF) official said Mongolia's overheating economy and the fading global economy posed a threat to the Central Asian country, local media reported Wednesday.
Steven Barnett, assistant director of the Asia and Pacific Department, warned against the country's plan to lift its national budget due to its already high government expenditure, which had grown 35 percent this year.
The higher expenditure would account for 6.5 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in the past three months and worsen inflation, Barnett was quoted as saying.
He also warned Mongolia of the current worldwide economy slowdown, noting a plummeting copper price had sharply cut the country's revenue during the 2008 financial crisis.
Natural resources such as copper, coal and gold are regarded as the keys to boosting the landlocked country's economy.
The IMF official said the government had to take measures to control its budget, raise interest rates in advance and curb cash allowances distributed to citizens.
Mongolia's GDP surged 14.3 percent in the first half of 2011, making it one of the fastest economies in the world. However, the country's Consumer Price Index, a vital statistic used to judge inflation, increased 9 percent year-on-year, according to the latest data from the country's statistics office.