Late breaking news from the G20 meeting of finance ministers in Washington:
The Treasury just told me that the UK representatives, Lindsey Whyte, who is Rishi Sunak’s deputy, and Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey left the G20 meeting in Washington today alongside representatives from the US and Canada as the Russian delegate spoke – in protest at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Treasury said:
Alongside our allies the US and Canada, representatives from the UK left the G20 meeting as Russian delegates spoke.
The UK is being represented in all G20 sessions by Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and the Chancellor’s Finance Deputy Lindsey Whyte.
We will continue working with our allies to condemn Russia’s war against Ukraine in strongest terms, and push for stronger international coordination to punish Russia for their unprovoked and unjustified actions, and work closely with partners and the International Finance Institutions to support Ukraine in their hour of need.
We’ll be back tomorrow. Thank you for reading. Bye! - JK
Closing summary
IMF fiscal affairs director Vitor Gaspar said governments must target support measures at vulnerable people who are hit hardest by rising energy and food prices in the wake of the war in Ukraine.
He said the Washington-based fund was open to emergency financing for nations facing food insecurity, especially those struggling under high debts.
The IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said “rising food and fuel prices are straining the budgets of ordinary families to the breaking point”. She warned of a “double crisis” from the Ukraine war and the Covid pandemic, which she said is a “massive setback for the global recovery,” a day after the IMF slashed its global growth forecast.
The Russian rouble has strengthened and is trading close to pre-invasion levels, while Russian stocks reversed earlier losses.
On the European stock markets, the FTSE 100 index is trading 0.1% higher at 7,610, while the German and French markets have advanced more than 1% and the Italian exchange is also nearly 1% higher.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones is up 0.6% at 213 points while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 turned negative.
Gas prices are climbing again, with the Dutch wholesale gas contract for the first quarter rising 5.1% to €98.50 per megawatt hour. Crude oil prices are unchanged at present, with Brent crude, the global benchmark, at $107.25 a barrel.
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