Sharp swings in global financial markets in the past few days are not worrying since economic growth is strong but reforms are still needed to avert future crises, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund said on Sunday.
Christine Lagarde, speaking at a conference on global business and social trends in Dubai, said economies were also supported by plenty of financing available.
In her first public comments on market movements since the latest round of turmoil at the end of last week, Lagarde said she was optimistic due to the current landscape but warned that there was no time to relax and wait for the growth to continue as normal.
Global stock markets were hit by wild fluctuations, with the U.S. benchmark S&P 500 tumbling 5.2 percent last week, its biggest weekly percentage drop since January 2016. The volatility was fueled by investor worries about rising interest rates and potential inflation.
She did not give details of the reforms she wanted to see beyond saying authorities needed to move to regulation of activities, not entities.
Lagarde also spoke on the social media campaign and said it was time to move from emotions to action. The #MeToo movement has exposed men accused of sexual assault and harassment in fields including entertainment, politics and business.
Dozens of prominent men have quit or been fired from high-profile posts, and police have opened investigations into some accusations of sex assault.
