Steinbrueck Rejects Political Intervention to Curb Oil Prices

German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said he opposes political interference to tame rising oil prices because such steps backfired in the past.

In comments to reporters today in Frankfurt, Steinbrueck, a Social Democrat, urged European Union leaders and their counterparts in the Group of Eight industrial states to stick to a 2005 accord that leaves energy markets free of price caps.
“We should stick to the Manchester Declaration,” Steinbrueck said as European finance ministers gathered to mark the European Central Bank’s 10th anniversary. “That means not to react politically and try to intervene. In the past, it has turned out to be a mistake quite often.”

Pressure is growing in the EU for concerted action on oil prices. French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde wants G-8 members, meeting in Japan next month, and EU states to take action to restore oil prices to a “tolerable” level, the Financial Times Deutschland reported, citing a letter from her ministry.

Bloomberg