Central bankers hail global growth

European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet on Monday hailed continued strong growth in the world economy, as the European Commission predicted the 13 nations which use the euro will together grow more than the United States or Japan.
Trichet said after a regular meeting of the G10 group of central bankers here that financial markets had confirmed their resilience by absorbing recent turbulence.
"We confirm that global growth is very encouraging, we are fully in line with what we have expressed at the last IMF meeting and the last meeting here in Basel," he told journalists at the Bank for International Settlements.
The ECB chief and current chairman of the G10 said there was "confirmation of a very strong growth at a global level in volume." The EU Commission's 2.6 percent growth forecast for the eurozone in 2007 means it will grow faster than other major developed economic powers for the first time since 2001, with US growth estimated at 2.2 percent and that of Japan at 2.3 percent.
In response to questioning about a slowdown in growth in the United States, Trichet underlined that the pattern of global economic growth was more balanced than before. The ECB reiterated warnings about downside risks including oil and commodity prices following volatility in those markets in recent years. "Let's continue to be fully aware about the risks," Trichet said, warning against complacency, especially over the risk of inflation.
"Price stability is necessary for a global growth," Trichet underlined. Trichet said there was no discussion during the G10 meeting of the outcome of the elections in France. However, he noted "with satisfaction" that President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy had not called for changes to "the EMU (European Monetary Union) treaty". During the election campaign last month, Sarkozy called for a Europe-wide "diplomatic offensive" to put pressure on the European Central Bank, which he blamed for the strong euro.
Sarkozy described the strength of the euro as an "inconvenience" that was "hobbling the competitiveness of exports outside the eurozone" and warned that the bank was "not accountable to anyone."
The independence of the ECB's decision-making on EU monetary affairs is enshrined in the European Union's 1992 "Maastricht" treaty. The treaty expressly rules out any attempts by government to influence the ECB or national central banks. G10 central bankers staunchly defend the notion of their independence.