KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 7): The world should keep its eyes peeled for a potential global economic and financial crisis, especially in light of the vibrant markets it is currently seeing, The World Bank said. This is because financial stress is a near-term risk to strong economic growth forecasts.

World Bank director for development prospects group Ayhan Kose raised the question of whether history might repeat itself, highlighting that every decade since the 1970s had seen a global economic crisis accompanied by a recession.

"The likelihood of a potential crisis should be at the back of our minds. The sudden repricing of risk could lead to higher volatility," Kose told reporters at the launch of the Global Economic Prospects report here today.

He said inflationary pressures were being seen not only in advanced economies, but also in emerging markets. However, economic growth is expected to remain resilient in the near term as financial systems are much better equipped to face potential stressors today than they were five and ten years ago, Kose added.

"Emerging markets will continue delivering strong growth rates," he said.