WASHINGTON, July 19 (Bernama) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on Wednesday new moves to broaden its economic surveillance on the member countries in a bid to better monitor the global financial woes and developments, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

"In the current challenging and highly interconnected global economic environment, it is critical to have effective surveillance to enable the early detection of risks and provide timely policy advice," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement.

While oversight of member countries' exchange rate policies remained at the core of IMF surveillance, the new moves would provide a basis for the IMF to engage more effectively with members on domestic economic and financial policies, Lagarde said.

The IMF's executive board also approved a new decision of bilateral and multilateral surveillance and the production of a pilot external sector report to improve the way of conducting its surveillance activity.

The new rules will be included in the Article IV annual consultations between the IMF and its 188 members. Based in Washington, one of the key functions of the IMF is to oversee the international monetary system and monitor the economic policies of its members.