Group of Seven (G7) financial leaders, concerned about risks to global economic growth, are likely to agree this week to keep monetary policy accommodative, slow fiscal consolidation in countries where it is possible, and implement structural reforms, a G7 source said. Finance ministers and central-bank chiefs of the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, and Canada meet Friday in the French port of Marseilles to discuss what actions to take to support the slowing global economy. “The main issue will be the slowdown in the global economy and what is the best way to tackle that,” a G7 official with knowledge of the preparations for the meeting told Reuters. The official said there was a sense among G7 countries that the global economy had entered the most difficult phase. “There will be an indication that monetary policy will remain accommodative, and that fiscal consolidation will go on, but in some countries at a slower pace in the short term,” the official said. No official communiqué was planned after the G7 meeting, but there could be a briefing by France, which will chair the talks, the official said.
