Date:08/07/2008 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/07/08/stories/2008070851991000.htm

Back A pot shot at global financial institutions on oil price rise

K. Venugopal

Sapporo, July 7

The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has taken the international finance institutions to task for not performing their duty to alleviate the problems caused by high oil prices.

He did not name the institutions, but the reference was evidently to the World Bank and the IMF. He said they needed to do more to help nations deal with the consequences of high prices.

Using words such as ‘lethargic’ to describe their response to the price rise, he said they were far less active than was the case in the two previous oil shocks of 1973 and 1979.

“One would like the international financial institutions to pool their wisdom, knowledge and experience to educate the world as to what is the principal cause (of the oil price hike).

“Instability and volatility in oil prices are neither in the interest of producers nor in the interest of consumers. Therefore, we need to create a forum where producers and consumers sit together and work out the modalities to introduce a greater element of stability,” he said.