The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has hinted the fund could lower its global economic outlook next month.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde told reporters in Washington Monday that the agency continues to project a gradual recovery, but global growth will likely be weaker than was anticipated even in July. She then added that the IMF’s forecast has trended downward over the last 12 months and that the global economy "is still fraught with uncertainty."

Lagarde warned that Europe “remains the epicenter of the crisis and where the most urgent action is needed.” She added that the IMF believes a banking union within the euro zone should be initiated as soon as possible in a bid “to break the vicious cycle between banks and sovereigns.”