France to host G7 finance ministers meeting on Middle East tensions

G7 Finance Ministers Meet – (Web Desk) – France will host a video meeting of G7 finance ministers on Monday to discuss the Middle East crisis and its impact on the global economy. The French finance ministry said the meeting at 1:30 pm (1230 GMT) will look at recent events in the Gulf and their economic effects.

French finance minister Roland Lescure told Franceinfo radio that he agreed with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other G7 ministers to hold the meeting about a week after the US-Israel conflict with Iran began. The goal is to follow how the conflict unfolds and how markets are reacting.

Finance ministers and central bank leaders from Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the US, and France will take part. France currently holds the rotating presidency of the G7. Lescure said the meeting will mainly be an exchange of views.

“We want to hear updates from businesses and economists around the world,” he said. “The idea is to discuss the situation and see if any action is needed. Even though this conflict is local, it affects the global economy, so coordination is important.”

The war, triggered by US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28, has caused oil and gas prices to rise sharply and stock markets to fall, especially in Europe and Asia. The talks will also cover Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route between Iran and the UAE. Around 20 percent of the world’s crude oil and LNG usually pass through this waterway.

Investors are worried that supply disruptions could push prices higher and trigger inflation similar to what happened after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they have “complete control” of the strait and warned that ships passing through risk missile or drone attacks.

But US President Donald Trump has said the US Navy was ready to escort tankers through the key shipping route.
On Friday, the price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US reference, had jumped by more than 35.63 percent in a week to $90.90.

But on Sunday the US oil benchmark soared above $100 a barrel as trading opened.

WTI jumped 20 percent to around $109 a barrel, a level not seen since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

A barrel of Brent Crude, the international reference, was sitting around $110.

The price of gas has also shot up around 40 percent over the past week.

Frederik Ducrozet, chief economist at asset manager Pictet, said the G7 finance ministers and central bankers would likely issue a statement after the meeting to calm markets.

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The meeting will also be an opportunity for G7 nations to find common ground in the face of diverging interests.

“One reading of what is currently ongoing is that the United States wants to increase its dominance in global fossil fuel markets,” said Guntram Wolff, an economist at the Bruegel think tank.

“And so that’s a certain division between Europe and the United States,” he added.