The International Monetary Fund issued a report on the state of the globe's fortunes as the world's economic leaders, including Mr Swan, gathered for the Group of 20 conference in Scotland.

The report said the global economy had returned to positive growth after the dramatic collapse of world markets but said the recovery had been uneven and was not yet self-sustaining.

This was most notable in developed economies, it said.

''Going forward, the global economic recovery is expected to be sluggish and inflation will remain low. The most pressing policy challenges over the near term, include maintaining economic recovery momentum and, for emerging economies, dealing with capital inflows,'' the report said.

''A key risk is that policy support is withdrawn before the recovery can achieve self-sustaining momentum, and that financial reforms are left to languish.''

The report was issued as new United States data showed a further 190,000 jobs were lost in October, taking the total figure to 15.7 million unemployed, or 10.2per cent of the workforce.

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