G8 finmins want curbs on commodity speculation

By Jo Winterbottom

LECCE, Italy, June 13 (Reuters) - Finance ministers of the Group of Eight nations made little mention of currencies or bond yields as they ended their meeting on Saturday, but there was clear evidence of disquiet over oil and commodity prices.

French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said ministers wanted measures to curb volatility in oil and oil products markets, where prices have climbed sharply this year as investors bet signs of an economic rebound will spark demand.

"We asked the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and IOSCO (International Organisation of Securities Commissions) to work with the IEA (International Energy Agency) to propose at least methods of surveillance and maybe of regulation concerning the oil markets," Lagarde told reporters after the meeting.

She added that G8 ministers wanted "proposals...made to producing and consuming countries to avoid extreme volatility like that which we saw a year ago."

The finance ministers from G8 countries -- Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Britain and the United States -- said volatile commodity prices put at risk growing signs that their economies were heading towards recovery.

"Excess volatility of commodity prices poses risks to growth," the ministers said in their final statement.

"We will consider ways to improve the functioning and transparency of global commodity markets." [ID:nLD422044]