Global economic growth will be "disappointing" next year, the head of the International Monetary Fund says.
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde has told German newspaper Handelsblatt the prospect of rising interest rates in the United States and an economic slowdown in China are contributing to uncertainty and a higher risk of economic vulnerability worldwide.
In addition, growth in global trade has slowed considerably and a decline in raw material prices is posing problems for economies based on these.
The financial sector in many countries also still has weaknesses and financial risks are rising in emerging markets, Lagarde said on Wednesday.
"All of that means global growth will be disappointing and uneven in 2016," she said, adding that low productivity, ageing populations and the effects of the global financial crisis were putting the brakes on growth.
Lagarde said the start of normalisation of US monetary policy and China's shift towards consumption-led growth were "necessary and healthy" changes but needed to be carried out as efficiently and smoothly as possible.
The US Federal Reserve hiked interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade earlier this month and made clear that was a tentative beginning to a "gradual" tightening cycle.
There are "potential spillover effects", with the prospect of increasing interest rates there already having contributed to higher financing costs for some borrowers, including in emerging and developing markets, Lagarde said.
She added that while countries other than highly developed economies were generally better prepared for higher interest rates than they had been in the past, she was concerned about their ability to absorb shocks.
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