The Global Economy has witnessed remarkable growth in the last couple of years but its growth has been stalled by the spiraling crude oil prices. High Crude prices have spooked the global economy and its immediate fallout is the high rate of inflation, which is pinching common man's pocket round the globe.

High oil prices are likely to become a sustained feature of energy markets for years to come and will continue to present a "serious" risk to the global economy, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) official says. With sustained rise in food prices, essential commodities, the average global inflation is hovering around the 7-8% mark and with the crude prices closing on the $150 mark; inflation is something that the global economy has to come to terms with. The US dollar has declined significantly in the last two years further augmenting the problem.

While the world's top oil-producing and oil-consuming nations are busy blaming one another for the nearly 50 per cent spike in the cost of crude since the start of the year, it seems no one knows the price of a barrel of oil but everyone agrees sky-high oil prices are here to stay. Every analyst seems to paint a doom and gloom situation, so what should you do? Listen to them and blame the government and join the long list of people already passing the buck.

World Economy is going through a rough patch and the weakness of the US economy with its credit crunch has added "fuel" to fire. With the current situation prevailing for the next few quarters, analysts are of the opinion that global growth is bound to slow down with pockets of recession or even depression. The 'oil shock' has come as a bitter pill which a lot of economies cannot swallow and have already started exhibiting signs of derailment. Energy being one of the primary drivers of growth and with energy prices hitting the roof, growth of the world economy has no more legs to stand on. To rest the global meltdown in asset prices and to maintain global growth, it is high time that efforts on a global scale are undertaken not only to check the steep rise in crude prices but also stem the negative impact from such high prices.

The world is now reeling from an oil price shock, its ripple effects driving up the cost of food and countless other consumer goods. The days of cheap fuel are gone, most likely forever. Adjusting - and finding alternatives - is no longer just an option. Procrastination on this count would not only prove suicidal to the world order but to the world economy at large.