G-20 Backs Accommodative Policy as Target Set for Higher GDP

The Group of 20 nations said monetary policy should remain accommodative for now in many advanced economies and pledged a coordinated push to boost growth by more than $2 trillion over the next five years.

The timing of stimulus pullback will depend on the outlook for prices and growth, finance ministers and central bank governors said in a statement after this weekend’s meeting in Sydney. The group will aim to lift collective gross domestic product by more than 2 percent above the trajectory implied by current policies.

“We agree the global economy still faces weaknesses in some areas of demand, and growth is still below the rates needed to get our citizens back into jobs and meet their aspirations for development,” the officials said. “Recent volatility in financial markets, high levels of public debt, continuing global imbalances and remaining vulnerabilities within some economies highlight that important challenges remain to be managed.”