World economy back on track for growth says Bank of England governor
Hopes that the world economy had finally turned the corner were given a boost yesterday when the governor of the Bank of England, Sir Edward George, said bank chiefs were more positive about global growth than for some time.
Speaking after chairing a meeting of the Group of 10 leading central banks is Basel, Switzerland, Sir George said he thought recovery was finally under way, adding "It is quite obvious that spring has come a little bit early this year."
Sir Edward’s comments echoed those made last week by Alan Greenspan, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, who said he saw increasing evidence that country’s economy had begun to regain its momentum. In common with his US counterpart, however, Sir Edward was cautious not to overstate the situation, saying it was too early to say how strong the recovery would be or whether the early spring would be followed by what he termed "an agreeable summer".
Improving US economic figures showing an increase in consumer spending and an upturn in manufacturing output has raised hopes for global growth. Sir Edward confirmed the recovery in the US economy that and eurozone growth was likely to be restored to its long-term average by the end of 2002.
However, he purposely refused to comment on whether he thought global interest rates had finally bottomed out. "It is ridiculous to say if this is the end of the cycle [of interest rate cuts]," he was quoted as saying . "I would mislead you if I pretended to know."
