G8, Fmi et cie: they can do nothing about the rise in oil.
This is the MARKET I tell you
With this systematic response to all the problems of the planet, it is badly crossed the planet because those which pilot the market it is the big capitals of this world rotten by the money.
No worries for those who have money, they risk NOTHING: safe from anything that can happen except death, that's for everyone and still happy that it is so.
G8, concerned about soaring prices, offers no cure
By Glenn Sommerville and Eric Burroughs Reuters - OSAKA (Japan) -
Finance ministers of the eight wealthiest countries on the planet warned on Saturday that soaring commodity prices could threaten global growth, but failed to agree on specific remedies to calm markets or calm down movements. anger caused in particular by expensive oil.
Although numerous statements about the role of the weak dollar in the current surge in inflation preceded the weekend meeting in Osaka, the exchange issues were not discussed during the meeting.
Analysts therefore expect to see the greenback lower on the foreign exchange market on Monday.
"High commodity prices, especially those of oil and food, pose a serious challenge to stable growth around the world (...) and may increase global inflationary pressures," the ministers said in the statement. final of their two-day meeting in the Japanese city.
These prices "have serious consequences for the most vulnerable and could increase inflationary pressure in the world", they add.
"We urge all producing countries to increase their production and invest to increase refining capacity," the statement continued.
A source close to the oil sector said on Sunday that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest exporter of crude oil, could increase production in July. This prospect has already dropped the barrel of crude Friday to the 136 dollar mark.
FAULTY AGREEMENT, THE QUESTION OF CHANGES LEFT OUT
US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he feared high oil prices would prolong the economic downturn in his country and European Economic and Monetary Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said the United States was under threat by stagflation comparable to that of the 1970s.
The G8 final communiqué does not, however, specifically refer to the plan presented by Italian Minister Giulio Tremonti to try to curb speculation on the oil markets, by increasing compulsory deposits to be able to deal with futures.
As a compromise, G8 ministers asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) to "work with relevant national authorities to conduct further analysis of the real and financial factors behind the recent surge in oil prices and their volatility, and the effects on the global economy ".
"The oil market can be made more efficient by greater transparency and reliability of market information, in particular stocks (...), and the size of the financial flows which enter the market.", can we read the press release.
Despite the G8's warning about the shock of commodity prices, most of the ministers present seemed more concerned about the slowdown in the growth of the economies affected by the credit market crisis than about the rise in prices. For the central bankers of the G8, the main battle is currently that of inflation, but they were not present this weekend in Osaka.
Japanese Minister Fukushiro Nukaga said the exchange rate issue had not been addressed, nor had the idea of intervention on the exchange markets. Last week, Paulson had refused to rule out such intervention in the face of the weakness of the greenback.
The American secretary of the Treasury repeated this weekend that he supported a strong dollar, words greeted by the French Minister for the Economy Christine Lagarde.
"I was relatively happy to hear Mr Paulson clearly say how essential the position on the strong dollar is, especially in the context of the fight against inflation," she said, emphasizing. the inextricable link between the weakness of the greenback and the inflation of commodity prices.
Paulson said, however, that in his view, the rally in the oil market - crude set new all-time highs last week - "was unrelated to the dollar."
The G8, mainly made up of crude oil importing countries, has little influence on the oil market, heated up by speculation and new demand from countries such as India and China.
But it can at least try to stem the decline in the greenback, which has also pushed investors to buy oil and other commodity contracts to hedge their currency risk. Oil prices rose concomitantly with the plummeting dollar, which has lost almost half its value against the euro in six years.
The last concerted intervention between G8 countries dates back to September 2000, when the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of Japan worked to curb the decline in the euro.
The G8 brings together the United States, Japan, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Russia.
French version Wilfrid Exbrayat and Guy Kerivel
If the dollar goes up we are bad for the price of fuels
