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To: Knighty Tin who wrote (287980)	5/23/2004 9:01:23 AM
From: Pogeu Mahone	Respond to of 436258

G7 powers meet to avert risk of global shock (23/05/2004) NEW YORK (AFP) Group of Seven economic leaders open formal talks here to avert the risk of a global oil shock even in the face of OPEC resistance to an immediate declaration boosting output. Fears that near-record oil prices could brake the gathering world recovery overcast the weekend gathering of finance ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. On Saturday evening, US Treasury Secretary John Snow and his partners met briefly at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in Manhattan to ponder the outlook. They later dined at New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's residence. "Excellent, good start to the meeting," Snow said, without giving more details, as he left the talks. The G7 discussions resume in the Waldorf-Astoria and a joint statement is expected early afternoon, setting the economic agenda for a gathering of leaders of the Group of Eight -- the G7 plus Russia -- in the southern US state of Georgia from June 8 to 10. The searing oil market is a headache for drivers paying record prices for gasoline, and a political liability for President George W. Bush ahead of November 2 presidential elections. In Europe, where economic growth trails much of the industrialized world, policymakers are pushing for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cool the market fast. "I believe that it's necessary in the next few days for OPEC to make an announcement that (oil) production will be raised, and we will continue to press them," British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown said Thursday. But at an informal meeting in Amsterdam on Saturday, oil ministers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries postponed any concrete decision until their next meeting in Beirut June 3. OPEC ministers were "deeply concerned" about the near-record oil price, cartel president Purnomo Yusgiantoro, the Indonesian Energy Minister, told reporters. But they refused to cast formal support to a proposal by Saudi Arabia, made public on Friday, to boost OPEC output by more than two million barrels per day. "The decision will be made in Beirut," Yusgiantoro said. OPEC suggested it was powerless to cool the world oil market alone. High prices were a result of several factors, "principal among them are gasoline bottlenecks ... and increased tensions in some regions of the world," he said. Bush, who has close ties to the US oil sector, said he was taking action on behalf of American consumers. "This weekend in Amsterdam, (Energy) Secretary Spence Abraham is meeting with petroleum producers from around the world on actions they can take to help the US and global economy," Bush said in his weekly radio address Saturdday. "To protect consumers against high (gasoline) prices, the Department of Energy has established a hotline to gather complaints of price gouging," he said. On Friday, Brown, French Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and German Finance Minister Hans Eichel wrote a joint letter to the Financial Times saying the G7 were meeting "to consider the world economy and express concern to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries about the impact of rising oil prices." ©AFP