LAGOS, Nigeria — IMF chief Christine Lagarde warned that the world economy is at a “very dangerous juncture”, when she spoke yesterday of the potential impact of economic crisis on poorer nations during her first visit to Africa as head of the fund.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director spoke of a crisis of confidence with high unemployment and slowing global growth, during a round table on Africa’s economic future in the Nigerian city of Lagos.

She said the IMF’s revised global growth forecast expected in January looked to be lower than the previous one in September, which was four per cent, already down from June’s outlook.

“And what’s more, there are downside risks on the horizon that are really threatening the recovery process that had started” after the 2008-09 financial crisis, she said.

The IMF has said Europe’s worsening economy and financial market turmoil meant it will revise downwards its predictions of the global economic growth contained in its World Economic Outlook report published three months ago.

Early this month, the UN also cut its world growth forecast to 2.6 per cent in 2012 from four per cent in 2010, warning the global economy is “teetering on the brink of a major downturn”.

Lagarde said on Monday during meetings with Nigerian officials that the European debt crisis posed a risk for “all economies of the world”.

The eurozone debt crisis abated slightly yesterday with an agreement on extra funds for the IMF, strong data from Germany and a good bond sale in Spain which boosted stocks and the euro.

But the deal on funds for the IMF, aimed at allowing the crisis lender to come to the aid of European nations caught up in the debt crisis, fell short of targets, with Britain again shunning its neighbours.