The head of the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday the Washington-based institution wanted to support Egypt and said that an IMF team would discuss details on a loan package to help the economy.

Christine Lagarde was speaking to journalists after holding talks with President Mohamed Mursi and other senior Egyptian officials during a visit to Cairo.

She said details and terms for the loan still had to be worked out and the IMF team would hold more talks on Thursday in Cairo before going back to Washington and then returning to Egypt for further discussions.

Egypt said it had formally asked for a loan of $4.8 billion, more than it had previously sought. - Reuters