IMF chief hopes for US-China rare earths deal to avoid 'material impact' on global economy

WASHINGTON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Friday she was hoping for an agreement between the U.S. and China that avoids a cutoff in the flow of rare earths to the global economy, adding that such restrictions would have a "material impact" on growth.

Georgieva told a press conference during the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington that such a scenario would exacerbate uncertainty and hurt an already weakened global growth picture.

"There is also still a sense of anxiety, because the performance of the world economy is less than we need it to be, and because there is a very dark cloud of uncertainty still holding lower our heads, and that uncertainty has become now the new normal."