…As IMF urges Iran to safeguard stability in face of U.S. sanctions***

World food prices fell 0.9 per cent in October from the month before, reflecting lower values for meat, dairy and oils, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday.

The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oil seeds, dairy products, meat and sugar, averaged 163.5 points last month, against a slightly revised 164.9 in September.

The September figure was previously given as 165.4.

FAO said global cereals output in 2018 was seen at 2.601 billion tonnes, up nearly 10 million tonnes on the previous forecast given in October, but still down 57 million tonnes, or 2.1 percent, from 2017’s record production level.

FAO’s forecast for world wheat production in 2018 was 728 million tonnes, down 4.3 percent from last year.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund on Thursday urged Iran to implement policies to safeguard its macroeconomic stability in the face of reimposed U.S. sanctions  that will cut Iranian economic growth by reducing oil exports.

IMF spokesman Gerry Rice also told a news conference that the Fund was urging Iran to strengthen  its anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing frameworks to comply with international standards by a deadline in February 2019.

“The reimposition of U.S. sanctions will reduce economic growth by restricting Iran’s oil exports and Iran should implement policies to safeguard macro-stability,” Rice said, particularly “the most vulnerable groups.”

Rice said the IMF was sending a mission to Islamabad on Nov. 7 to launch financing talks with Pakistan, which formally requested an IMF bailout program during the fund’s annual meetings in Indonesia in October.

Rice said the talks are aimed at reaching a staff-level agreement, which would be submitted to the IMF’s executive board for consideration.

He did not offer a timetable for reaching such a staff-level agreement with Pakistan.