Finance ministers from the G8 economic powers predicted a year of strong economic growth despite high oil prices, skidding US stock prices, rising interest rates and fears of inflation.

Meeting in St Petersburg recently, the ministers said in a communique that economic growth was healthy and becoming more broadly based despite the threat from oil at $70 a barrel and other imbalances — one of which is the big US trade deficit, another China’s trade surplus.
The meeting, to prepare a July summit, called for progress in the stalled Doha Round of trade liberalisation talks but the words rang hollow as countries such as Brazil said all could fail if developed countries did not give more ground.
The world economy is forecast by the International Monetary Fund to grow 4.9 per cent this year, the best since 1976 bar what was an exceptionally strong 2004, with growth now propelled to a much greater extent by rising stars such as India and China.
 “We share the view that despite some volatility on financial markets the world economy is developing very positively,” German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said.
IMF chief Rodrigo Rato, attending the talks too, said that the dollar, which has been somewhat weaker of late versus other currencies, was at more appropriate levels at the moment and he said China would benefit from a more flexible currency system.
China is now the world’s second largest oil consumer after the US and Finance Minister Jin Renqing was among several representatives of fast developing non-G8 countries invited to part of the deliberations in sunny St Petersburg.
The G8 countries, host Russia plus the US, Canada, Japan, Germany, Britain, France and Italy, called for efforts to find alternatives to oil and more secure supplies of energy generally, a point of tension within their own ranks.