The United States urged a meeting of the Group of 20 leading
economies not to resort to currency devaluations to boost exports, while
a draft communique gave a gloomy assessment on Tuesday of the outlook
for global growth.
The meeting of finance ministers and central bankers in Istanbul comes at a difficult time, with major economies running at different speeds, monetary policies diverging and Greece casting a new shadow over Europe.
US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew underlined the need to stick to existing commitments on exchange rate policy, a Treasury official said, pledges which include refraining from competitive exchange rate devaluations.
"Secretary Lew strongly emphasized ... that we are highly focused on ensuring that U.S. workers and firms play on a level playing field and no country should use their exchange rate to increase exports," the official said.
The US Federal Reserve looks set to raise interest rates this year, a stark contrast to huge money printing programs by the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan and impromptu rate cuts from India to Australia, Canada to Denmark.
A by-product of that is the dollar being driven higher while other major currencies tumble. There has generally been an acceptance in Washington that a weaker euro and yen is an inevitable consequence of actions to revive moribund economies, something the United States has consistently called for.
According to a draft communique for the meeting, obtained by Reuters overnight and intended for adoption later on Tuesday, the G20 welcomed the ECB's quantitative easing - despite German concern - and said it would further support recovery in the euro area.
In a nod to expectations that the Fed will raise interest rates, the draft said some advanced economies with stronger growth prospects were moving closer to "policy normalization".
But it cautioned: "In an environment of divergent monetary policy settings and rising financial market volatility, policy settings should be carefully calibrated and clearly communicated to minimise negative spillovers."
The draft welcomed the favorable outlook in some key economies but gave a gloomy assessment of the global economy as a whole, saying growth was uneven and trade slow.
It said G20 members would act decisively on monetary and fiscal policy, if needed, to combat the risk of persistent stagnation, although it said the sharp decline in oil prices would provide some boost.
The meeting of finance ministers and central bankers in Istanbul comes at a difficult time, with major economies running at different speeds, monetary policies diverging and Greece casting a new shadow over Europe.
US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew underlined the need to stick to existing commitments on exchange rate policy, a Treasury official said, pledges which include refraining from competitive exchange rate devaluations.
"Secretary Lew strongly emphasized ... that we are highly focused on ensuring that U.S. workers and firms play on a level playing field and no country should use their exchange rate to increase exports," the official said.
The US Federal Reserve looks set to raise interest rates this year, a stark contrast to huge money printing programs by the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan and impromptu rate cuts from India to Australia, Canada to Denmark.
A by-product of that is the dollar being driven higher while other major currencies tumble. There has generally been an acceptance in Washington that a weaker euro and yen is an inevitable consequence of actions to revive moribund economies, something the United States has consistently called for.
According to a draft communique for the meeting, obtained by Reuters overnight and intended for adoption later on Tuesday, the G20 welcomed the ECB's quantitative easing - despite German concern - and said it would further support recovery in the euro area.
In a nod to expectations that the Fed will raise interest rates, the draft said some advanced economies with stronger growth prospects were moving closer to "policy normalization".
But it cautioned: "In an environment of divergent monetary policy settings and rising financial market volatility, policy settings should be carefully calibrated and clearly communicated to minimise negative spillovers."
The draft welcomed the favorable outlook in some key economies but gave a gloomy assessment of the global economy as a whole, saying growth was uneven and trade slow.
It said G20 members would act decisively on monetary and fiscal policy, if needed, to combat the risk of persistent stagnation, although it said the sharp decline in oil prices would provide some boost.
