Comments from the IMF leader:

  • ‘Global growth is still stuck in low gear’
  • Global economy should strengthen further in 2014
  • Japan’s initial boost from Abenomics is weakening a bit
  • US must avoid early withdrawal of Fed support
  • Growing number of emerging markets ‘slowing down’
  • Eurozone monetary policy ‘could still do more’

Lagarde has been an excellent forecaster since taking over at the IMF.

When a Fed official is talking about the ‘puzzling’ low inflation, it says that something is happening and economists have no idea what it is. Something like that can be a powerful force and the ECB is depending on well-anchored expectations to avoid inflation. That’s not the kind of thing you want to bet the farm on.

Update: Lagarde adds that the IMF global growth outlook is to be revised higher