IMF chief says seeking fresh funds for poor countries

WASHINGTON, April 22 (Reuters) - The head of the International Monetary Fund said on Sunday she is seeking to boost the IMF's fund for poor countries by a total of $17 billion at a time when higher oil prices pose the biggest risk to Africa's growth prospects.

Two days after the IMF secured $430 billion to deal with economic spillovers from the euro debt crisis, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said her next focus was to raise funds for the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT), which provides low-cost loans to poor countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Lagarde urged wealthy countries which made a profit from the IMF's sale of 403.3 tonnes of gold last year to reinvest the windfalls into the PRGT, increasing resources available for the poor.

"I will be looking for additional financing of $17 billion," Lagarde said after talks in Washington with African finance chiefs.