IMF: ECB asset purchase program should be extended if no improvement on inflation

From an International Monetary Fund note prepared for a meeting of G20 finance officials

• Meeting is Friday and Saturday in Turkey

Downside risks to the global economy have risen

• A combination of threats including slower growth in China and rising market volatility could severely cut the outlook
• "Risks are tilted to the downside, and a simultaneous realization of some of these risks would imply a much weaker outlook,"

Said China should keep up reforms to liberalize its economy, despite the market gyrations

• "The recent sharp equity market corrections should not discourage the authorities from continuing with reforms to give market mechanisms a more decisive role in the economy, eliminate distortions, and strengthen institutions"

Accommodative monetary policy in advanced economies was "essential"

• Stressed the case for structural reforms to boost potential output and productivity
• The Bank of Japan should stand ready for further easing
• European Central Bank should extend its asset-buying program unless inflation, which is showing signs of stabilization, picks up sufficiently