Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations gathered Feb. 6-7 in Florida, but the outcome of their talks stayed within the expectations of most currency market watchers — mainly because it wasn't clear what the G7 wanted to say.
The seven economic powers ended their meeting with a statement calling for: exchange-rate stability, leaving exchange rates to market mechanisms, and flexibility in currency-exchange regimes.
This statement incorporated two contradictory concepts — flexibility and stability — because the participants needed to consider the differences in the basic positions of Japan, the United States and Europe regarding currency issues, and the interests of the other Asian nations, especially China.