Brussels, 09/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - Sir Edward George, the Governor of the Bank of England, delivered a hopeful message to the G10 Central Bankers for whom he is spokesman. In the bimonthly meeting of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) at its headquarters in Basle, Sir Edward declared that economic activity would certainly remain weak in the near future but perspectives for growth would become more apparent as the year progressed.
Sir Edward explained that while the economy of the Euro-zone was currently stagnating, growth of between 2 and 2.5% was expected between now and the end of the year. Economic revival was also expected in the USA, where growth had almost bottomed out. Sir Edward also pointed out that growth in the first world should regain strength at around 3% at the end of the year as opposed to the 0% rate of growth currently being experienced. Developing countries will not be spared. China will in particular have to bid last year's very strong growth of at least 7%, goodbye. There is a single exception - Japan -, which is still expected to experience a few more months of slump due to the negative effect of the government's structural reforms on economic activity. Sir Edward explained that growth was expected to pick up in 2003 thanks to the long-term impact of these reforms.