IMF's Lagarde says risk of sharper global growth decline has increased

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Monday that the risk of a sharper slowdown in global growth had increased, even if recession was not yet around the corner.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland after the IMF trimmed its 2019 and 2020 global growth forecasts, Lagarde urged policymakers to address economic vulnerabilities, especially by reducing high government debt.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara and Silvia Aloisi; editing by Mark Trevelyan)