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Group of Seven finance chiefs have vowed to tackle a "severe" economic downturn that will persist for most of 2009 without spelling out new steps.
The G7's finance ministers and central bankers said in a statement released after talks in Rome at the weekend that they were working to restore confidence in markets and revive the world economy. They predicted the full effect of individual rescue packages would "build over time".
"We reaffirm our commitment to act together using the full range of policy tools to support growth and employment and strengthen the financial sector," the statement said.
"The stabilisation of the global economy and financial markets remains our highest priority."
The policymakers met after reports last week showed Germany's economy contracted the most in 22 years in the fourth quarter, and US consumer confidence neared its lowest since 1981.
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urged initiatives that are "forceful and sustained for a period that matches the likely duration of the crisis" and noted a "a much greater scale of urgency and commitment" within the G7.
The authorities are still at a loss on the best course of action 18 months after the credit crisis broke out. That has left them pursuing a disjointed approach as deterioration continues.
"The statement ticks all the right boxes," said Marco Annunziata, chief economist at Unicredit MIB in London, "but as expected does not go beyond generic statements of principle and commitments that we have heard before."
- BLOOMBERG
