WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Finance chiefs from the G7 powers said yesterday the global economy may be pulling out of the depths of a recession although recovery was not yet assured, and they pledged to make certain big financial firms are sound.
Group of Seven finance ministers and central bankers said after their meeting that economic activity should begin to recover later this year. However, the outlook remained weak and there was a risk that the global economy may still worsen.
“We are right to be somewhat encouraged, but we would be wrong to conclude that we are close to emerging from the darkness that descended on the global economy early last fall,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a statement.
It was a less dire assessment than the G7 delivered at its last official gathering in February, when leaders warned that the severe downturn would persist through most of 2009 and made no mention of promising signs of stability.
“Recent data suggest that the pace of decline in our economies has slowed and some signs of stabilization are emerging,” the G7 said in a closing communique.
“We will continue to act, as needed, to restore lending, provide liquidity support, inject capital into financial institutions, protect savings and deposits and address impaired assets. We reaffirm our commitment to take all necessary actions to ensure the soundness of systemically important institutions,” the statement said.
