CASPER
New member
World finance leaders sought on Friday to tamp down simmering currency tensions that threaten to drag on an economic recovery that is already too slow and uneven for their liking.
Group of 20 finance ministers met at a breakfast on the sidelines of this weekend's International Monetary Fund and World Bank twice-yearly meetings and some said an effort was under way to come to grips with simmering tensions.
Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told reporters as he arrived for the meeting that it was vital G20 countries not engage in protectionist measures as a response to currency strains but he also singled out China, saying it must live up to a commitment to allow more currency flexibility.
He expressed hope finance ministers meeting in Washington over the weekend could find a way through the thorny thicket of currency tensions that has raised fears of a global round of competitive devaluations.
"I would expect that we'd arrive at a consensus with respect to the necessary direction," he said.
The smaller group of rich G7 advanced economies was set to hold a closed-door dinner later Friday at which currencies were also expected to be discussed.
China's policy of managing the value of its yuan has raised the hackles of trade partners who consider it unfairly undervalued and who charge it permits China to rack up huge surpluses at others' expense.
The yuan ended at its highest closing level on Friday since a landmark revaluation in July 2005, possibly a sign that Beijing is sensitive to the growing demands to let it rise more rapidly.
Group of 20 finance ministers met at a breakfast on the sidelines of this weekend's International Monetary Fund and World Bank twice-yearly meetings and some said an effort was under way to come to grips with simmering tensions.
Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told reporters as he arrived for the meeting that it was vital G20 countries not engage in protectionist measures as a response to currency strains but he also singled out China, saying it must live up to a commitment to allow more currency flexibility.
He expressed hope finance ministers meeting in Washington over the weekend could find a way through the thorny thicket of currency tensions that has raised fears of a global round of competitive devaluations.
"I would expect that we'd arrive at a consensus with respect to the necessary direction," he said.
The smaller group of rich G7 advanced economies was set to hold a closed-door dinner later Friday at which currencies were also expected to be discussed.
China's policy of managing the value of its yuan has raised the hackles of trade partners who consider it unfairly undervalued and who charge it permits China to rack up huge surpluses at others' expense.
The yuan ended at its highest closing level on Friday since a landmark revaluation in July 2005, possibly a sign that Beijing is sensitive to the growing demands to let it rise more rapidly.
