Central bankers fret about oil

cnn money

"The surprising resilience of the world economy to the energy shock has pleased central bankers, although they are wary.

A report on financial stability issued by top central bankers Friday cited rising energy costs, aggravated by Hurricane Katrina, as factors likely to influence the near-term outlook for global economic growth and inflation.

European Union finance ministers Saturday urged long-term solutions and set out a four-point program for tackling the effects of a 200-percent rise in the price of crude oil in real terms since 2001.

G10 Chairman Jean-Claude Trichet, who heads the European Central Bank, backed the program that urged producers to keep pumping extra crude, invest their extra earnings in new exploration, open their books to provide markets with reliable information on supply and invest in new refining capacity as well as alternative energy sources.

EU ministers estimate that demand for crude oil will rise a further 50 percent in the next 20 years and some economists are talking of $100 a barrel."