ID :
65168
Wed, 06/10/2009 - 21:27
Auther :

G-8 eyeing rosier economic view at weekend meet: official

TOKYO, June 10 Kyodo -
Group of Eight finance ministers are likely to present a rosier view on the
global economy when they gather over the weekend in Italy, a senior Japanese
official said Wednesday.
The Finance Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it is
likely that the assessment will ''not back away'' from the expression used in a
joint statement released in April by Group of Seven finance chiefs in
Washington, citing some recent positive signs in economic indicators.
But he said it is still unclear how the economic situation will be described in
the upcoming joint communique.
The April G-7 statement said, ''Recent data suggest that the pace of decline in
our economies has slowed and some signs of stabilization are emerging.''
''Economic activity should begin to recover later this year amid a continued
weak outlook and downside risks persist,'' the statement by the G-7 -- Britain,
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States -- also said.
The G-8, comprising the seven powers plus Russia, will set to agree that they
will continue to take necessary steps to make sustained growth possible, while
pointing out that many uncertainties still exist for the world economy, the
official said.
Once the economy stabilizes, ''We have to think about exit strategies from
unusual measures'' taken so far to fight the global economic crisis, he said,
adding that the issue will likely be taken up at the meeting Friday and
Saturday in Lecce in southern Italy.
In this context, Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano will likely brief G-8
partners about Tokyo's renewed commitment to improve fiscal discipline, the
official said.
He said the recent issue of rising long-term interest rates will not likely be
a major topic at the meeting, although it may be discussed to some extent in a
macroeconomic context.
Japan does not regard rising bond yields as ''an element of instability'' for
the global economy in the near term, he added.
Other major items on the agenda at the upcoming G-8 meeting will be how to
strengthen the lending capacity of international organizations to assist
developing countries and how to improve financial regulation and surveillance,
according to Japanese officials.
The ministers are also scheduled to touch on issues related to food security
and climate change, the officials said.
==Kyodo

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