USA: G7 FINANCE MINISTERS DISCUSS OIL PRICES IN WASHINGTON.

Record ID: 344823

  • Title: USA: G7 FINANCE MINISTERS DISCUSS OIL PRICES IN WASHINGTON.
  • Date: 2nd October 2004
  • Summary: (W7)WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 1, 2004) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. MV/GV: G7 WORKING LUNCH (12 SHOTS) 1.05 2. GV.MV/CU.PAN: G7 GROUP PHOTO (4 SHOTS) 1.41 3. GV/MV/CU: PROTESTERS (6 SHOTS) 2.31 4. GV/PAN: EXTERIOR OF U.S. TREASURY, PAN TO DEMO 2.38 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 17th October 2004 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES
  • City:
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVADR1HXE6B0E6NUVSWYF1ZVR1F8
  • Story Text: Oil top of agenda at G7 meeting in Washington D.C.



    Concerned that soaring oil prices could hurt the
    best global prospects in years, finance chiefs from wealthy
    nations met on Friday (October 1) to try to work out what
    lay behind the surge and how to buffer the economic
    expansion.

    Group of Seven finance ministers and central bankers
    met at the tightly guarded U.S. Treasury building over
    lunch and were to work through the afternoon before a
    dinner with Chinese counterparts that has currency reform
    on the menu.

    The officials will set out their world-view at about
    5:45 p.m. EDT (2145 GMT) in a communiqu sources said would
    include a call to bolster oil-market monitoring to make it
    easier to discern if scarce supply, hefty demand or market
    speculation lay behind crude's drive to record levels.

    The answer to this question is critical. It could
    affect policy responses big oil consumers must adopt --
    higher interest rates to stem inflation or a renewed focus
    on finding new energy sources -- and may offer key
    information on how long the price rise will last. On
    Friday, U.S. crude oil futures topped $50 a barrel.

    The G7 gathering comes ahead of weekend meetings of the
    International Monetary Fund and World Bank. A scant 75
    protesters gathered outside the U.S.

    Treasury to demonstrate against the lenders' slow
    movement on forgiving debts of poor countries -- an issue
    on the finance chiefs' agenda.

    The perimeter of the Treasury building bristled with
    security during the meetings.

    A terror warning last month that cited the IMF and
    World Bank as potential targets and led officials to
    shorten the semi-annual session to a weekend

    ac/rb


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