Washington  - The International Monetary Fund on Saturday suggested countries should begin thinking about reducing their massive deficits - the result of huge stimulus packages to revive growth - amid signs that the worst global recession in decades might be easing.

As the IMF's 24-member decision-making committee held a semi-annual meeting in Washington, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn stuck to his forecast that the economic downturn will end in the first half of next year.

Amid those positive signs, Strauss-Kahn suggested the time had come for developing an "exit strategy" from the crisis. The meeting of finance ministers this weekend had shown some countries were more worried than others over the size of their budget deficits.

"From our point of view, the exit strategy has to be taken into account as soon as possible," Strauss-Kahn said at a press conference.

Strauss-Kahn would not single out countries, though others in the past have pointed to the United States, which has launched one of the world's most ambitious stimulus packages and is expected to run a deficit of more than 13 per cent this year.

Egyptian Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali, who chairs the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), reinforced a message from the past few days that the "economic storm" of the last six months could be ending.

"We see a break in the clouds," Boutros-Ghali said.

The IMFC in a statement endorsed a tripling of the IMF's lending resources to 750 billion dollars - a pledge made by leaders at a Group of 20 (G20) summit in London earlier this month. (dpa)