--G10 Bankers See 2001 EMU Growth At "Around" 3%
--Would Like Stable Oil Prices At Current Levels
BASEL (MktNews) - The Japanese economy continues to lose momentum and has been expanding at a sluggish pace, indicating a need for a remedial policy response, Bank of England Governor Eddie George said Monday in his capacity as spokesman for the G10 group of central bankers.
"There was a clear sense ... of the (Japanese) economy remaining pretty sluggish," George said describing the tone of the G10 central bankers' latest regular meeting here.
"Possibly ... some indicators are loosing momentum," George continued in his briefing to reporters indicating that the situation required additional policy steps by Japanese authorities.
George did not comment on recent stimulative fiscal and monetary policy adjustments in Japan.
While the Japanese economy is "not in decline," as shown by fourth quarter GDP data, "clearly the situation is not as strong as we (G10)" and they (Japanese authorities) would wish it to be."
Indeed, he added, the country's problems "seem to be pretty broad based," George said.
Overall, the prospects for Japan's economy are for a "continuation of relatively modest growth," he said.
Still, Japan needs to do more in terms of contributing to global economic growth, George indicated.
"Most of us would feel that the best thing for the global economy... is that Japan's expansion is sustained and, desirably, strengthened," George said.
"We expect the expansion to continue at a fairly modest level."
Turning to the eurozone, George said that the G10 central bankers expect economic growth of "around 3%" this year, or a "bit lower" than the figure seen for 2000. He added that "any kind of inflationary pressure is expected to moderate."
In other remarks, George expressed the G10's desire "to see relatively stable oil prices at current levels." He appeared to express optimism that oil prices have peaked, despite the prospect that oil producing countries could take steps to lower production in the spring and summer to prevent a sharp fall in prices as demand declines due to seasonal conditions.
"I would say 'so far, so good' on that front," George added.