International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn warned on Monday that the global economic situation in the wake of a US slowdown was "serious" and could impact the world''s emerging economies.
"The situation is serious... all the world''s countries are suffering from the slowdown in growth in the United States, at least all developed countries," Strauss-Kahn told reporters after talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
"Fortunately emerging nations continue to have fairly strong growth and to drive growth worldwide. But it is not impossible that even in emerging nations it could have a certain effect, that growth could be weaker than expected."
Asked about the measures announced Friday by US President George W. Bush to give the slowing US economy a boost, the IMF director-general said the "stock markets did not respond well, it would seem, to the package."
"To an extent it was predictable, but president Bush wanted to try that solution." European stock markets closed sharply lower Monday, with losses of more than five percent in many centres, after sharp falls on Asian markets rattled by fears of recession in the United States.