The global growth should strengthen further in 2014 largely due to improvements in the advanced economies, but the momentum is still stuck in low gear, Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday.

Addressing at the National Press Club, Lagarde said global growth momentum had strengthened in the latter half of 2013, and should strengthen further in 2014, largely due to improvements in the advanced economies.

"Overall, the direction is positive, but global growth is still too low, too fragile, and too uneven," she noted.

For the advanced economies, the outlook is subject to significant risks, Lagarde said. With inflation running below many central bank targets, there are rising risks of deflation, which could prove disastrous for the recovery.

Lagarde suggested the central banks of the advanced economies return to more conventional monetary policies only when robust growth is firmly rooted. Countries need to use the room created by unconventional monetary policies to put in place the reforms needed to jumpstart growth and jobs.

For the United States, it will be critical to avoid premature withdrawal of monetary support and return to an orderly budget process, although the growth is certainly picking up.

She noted during the years of financial crisis, emerging markets had kept the global economy afloat, but a growing number of them are slowing down as the economic cycle turns, and there are risks arising from financial market turbulence and the volatility of capital flows.

Emerging market policymakers must be wary of any signs of financial excess, especially in the form of asset bubbles or rising debt. They should strengthen and implement financial regulation so that they can better manage credit cycles. Many also need structural reforms to unlock their growth potential. IMF is scheduled to update its World Economic Outlook on Jan. 21. Largade said the revision will show slightly stronger growth than the last forecast the IMF made in October.