SAINT PETERSBURG (AFX) - Following is an at-a-glance guide to the weekend meeting of G8 finance ministers.
ENERGY
-G8 finance ministers stressed the need for greater security of supply and for international rules in the energy sector, according to the statement issued after their meeting.
-Russia has made energy the focus of its G8 presidency, but its reliability as a supplier was called into question earlier this year when it briefly cut off natural gas supplies to Ukraine, affecting several European countries.
-Russia is also resisting pressure from the EU to ratify the energy charter, which sets international rules for trade in energy.
-Russian finance minister Alexei Kudrin said the charter does not take account of the atomic energy sector or the changed nature of Europe following EU enlargement.
-Kudrin said consumer countries should provide better guarantees and information on their consumption plans rather than worrying about Russia's reliability.
-'There is a need for responsibility by consumers.... There is no production shock, it is a consumption shock linked to a lack of predictability of consumption,' he said after chairing the meeting.
GLOBAL ECONOMY
-Ministers warned that high oil prices and global imbalances pose risks to economic growth.
-'Global growth remains strong and is gradually becoming more broadly based,' they said.
-'However downside risks from high and volatile energy prices and widening global imbalances remain,' they said.
-They recognised that global economic adjustment is a shared responsibility and reiterated their commitment to address the imbalances.
-US treasury secretary John Snow, who is soon to be succeeded by Goldman Sachs chief executive Henry Paulson Jr, was upbeat about the state of the world economy.
-'Global economic growth remains impressively strong overall,' he said.
-'Although relative performance continues to be uneven, we are pleased to see that recoveries are strengthening in Japan and in Europe,' he said.
-Snow said US inflation 'remains contained' despite high oil prices.
-The US Federal Reserve has repeatedly cited inflation as a reason for raising interest rates.
-EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner Joaquin Almunia said high oil prices have not so far produced any second-round effects on euro zone wages and prices, but added that any fresh increase would have to be monitored closely.
-In comments to AFX News, Almunia added however: 'According to the futures markets, we are not expecting a huge increase in oil prices.'
EXCHANGE RATES
-As expected, ministers made no mention of exchange rates in their statement despite concerns about the dollar's sharp fall.
-Neither currencies nor interest rates were on the agenda as central bankers were not present.
-But Japanese finance minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said he discussed the need for stable exchange rates in bilateral talks with Snow.
-'We did talk about exchange rates,' Tanigaki said.
-'Our exchange rates should move in a stable manner,' he said.
-Almunia said he expects the strength of the euro against the dollar to have no major effect on the euro zone economy in the coming months.
-'According to our analysis, the impact of the variation of the exchange rate recently has not been important so far,' he said.
-'We do not expect this to create serious problems in the coming months,' he said.
INTEREST RATES
-French finance minister Thierry Breton said the European Central Bank should only raise interest rates gradually.
-'I observe that inflation is under control, wage increases are moderate, and I note that other factors have already meant a tightening of monetary and financial conditions in the euro zone, in particular the appreciation of the euro,' Breton said.
-'I believe that this should lead to gradual changes (in rates). It seems that that's what the markets have understood,' he said.
EQUITY MARKETS
-Japan's Tanigaki said the slide in equity prices is merely a market correction rather than the result of any underlying problems in the global economy.
-'With regard to recent declines in stock prices, we don't think they necessarily derive from structural changes that are occurring in the world economy,' Tanigaki said.
-He said ministers shared the view expressed by IMF director-general Rodrigo Rato during the meeting that the fall was due to 'a correction after recent overheating' of markets.
WTO
-Ministers called for 'urgent progress' on the WTO negotiations aimed at liberalising global trade.
-'We are committed to fighting protectionism and to promoting liberalisation of trade in agriculture, industrial goods and services as well as of investment,' they said.
-'We agree on the importance for global growth of an ambitious outcome of the Doha Development Round and recognise that urgent progress is needed for its achievement,' they said.
RUSSIA'S WTO MEMBERSHIP
-Snow said he hopes progress is made towards Russia's membership of the WTO before next month's summit.
-'It would be wonderful to get that done before the heads of the state meeting in Saint Petersburg,' he said.
-'I'm not forecasting that it will be done. But I am saying that a lot of groundwork has been put in place,' he said.
RUSSIAN DEBT
-Russia will repay 1.3 bln eur of its debt to Germany ahead of schedule, a German finance ministry spokesman said.
-'A deal was reached on Friday on the question. There was no agreement on the rest of the debt,' the spokesman said.
-Russia, which owes Germany a total of 7.7 bln eur, wants to use its growing oil and gas revenues to speed up its debt repayments.
-But Germany is reluctant to agree to the early reimbursement of the total as it would miss out on interest payments.
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