Bank of France governor Christian Noyer said the recent strong upward pressure on oil prices is likely to last, and put upward pressure on inflation. Last year "robust growth in certain areas of the world, which boosted the demand for energy, while the adjustment of supply was marginal and belated, engendered strong pressures on oil prices that are liable to be durable and result in lagged inflationary effects", Noyer said in his presentation of the bank's annual report. He said the pick-up in French growth seen last year was accompanied by persistent inflationary pressures despite productivity gains. Noyer also said that French growth has become more unbalanced and fragile over the past four years because it has been fuelled by private consumption and government spending, without any help from corporate investment or external trade.