Brown admits GDP forecast was ‘over optimistic’ |
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Published
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Sun, 25 Sep 2005 09:05
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WASHINGTON: Chancellor Gordon Brown today admitted that the Treasury had miscalculated expected GDP growth. Its current rate of 1.9 percent is far below his ambitious target of between 3 and 3.5 percent. The chancellor also suggested “concerted international effort” to combat the threat of soaring oil prices disrupting global economic growth.
Mr Brown was here to attend the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. He told the IMF that coordinated international effort was required to address the threat to global growth.
He said the problem could be tackled by the combined effort of the IMF, the World Bank and oil producing countries. The World Bank could sanction a fund as investment in alternative energy sources for developing countries; oil supply needed to be boosted and IMF should initiate a facility helping poorer countries deal with the volatility of oil prices.
Meanwhile, the OPEC countries tried to ease supply worries by offering up every spare oil barrel. Mr Brown is believed to have contacted seven major oil companies who promised to spend a part of their gains from higher fuel prices back towards increasing production.
Back home, shadow chancellor George Osborne - a sworn critic of Mr Brown, said Mr Brown had been unaware of the realities and even appeared immune to skepticism.
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