BEIJING (Reuters) – The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, said on Sunday that risks to financial stability had increased and called for continued vigilance, although measures taken by advanced economies have eased tensions in the markets.
Kristalina Georgieva reiterated her forecast of a still difficult year in 2023, with global growth slowing below 3% due to the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the tightening of monetary policies.
Even though the outlook for 2024 is better, global growth will remain well below its historical average of 3.8% and the outlook for global growth remains weak, she told a forum in China.
The IMF, which has forecast global growth of 2.9% this year, is due to release new forecasts next month.
Kristalina Georgieva believes that policy makers in advanced economies reacted decisively to financial stability risks following bank failures but that vigilance was needed.
“We therefore continue to monitor developments closely and assess the potential implications for the global economic outlook and financial stability,” she said, adding that the IMF was paying particular attention to the most vulnerable countries. vulnerable, especially low-income countries with high levels of debt.
She also warned of geo-economic fragmentation which could divide the world into rival economic blocs, leading to “a dangerous division that would leave everyone poorer and less secure”.
(Report Joe Cash and Xu Jing, French version Matthieu Protard)
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