TOKYO, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Questions remain over the United States' growth outlook due to uncertainty over the new administration's policies, while rising protectionism in advanced economies could affect Asia's prosperity, a senior International Monetary Fund official said.
Asia continues to perform strongly and the near-term outlook remains strong, but downside risks dominate, Mitsuhiro Furusawa, the IMF's deputy managing director, told a seminar in Tokyo on Thursday.
"Uncertainties could contribute to financial volatility in the coming months," Furusawa said, calling for flexible exchange rates, use of macro-prudential policies and stronger reserves buffers to cope with capital flow volatility.
(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)