The yields on ten-year Treasuries have risen by 1.2 percentage points in the past six months. That is roughly the same increase as during the “taper tantrum” of 2013, when emerging markets suffered capital flight because of a hawkish Fed.

Many emerging-market central banks have been raising interest rates to get ahead of the inflation problem. [...] But investors have pulled some money out of emerging markets, and the Fed may yet have to raise rates further still.

Commodity importers like Sri Lanka face the sort of pressure that can unseat governments as well as disrupt the economy.

The greatest vulnerability is found among the poorest economies, nearly 60% of which are in debt distress or at high risk of it, according to the World Bank. One worry is that almost a third of their total debt now carries a floating rate of interest, up from 15% in 2005, making them more exposed to monetary tightening.

The imf only lends to countries with sustainable debts, and the West does not want to see its aid being siphoned off by other creditors. Geopolitical conflict is making the poor world’s economic problems worse, and harder to resolve.