G20 finance chiefs end Bangkok talks without communique

G20 finance ministers and central bank governors met in Bangkok on Thursday, October 15, and the economic damage from the US-Israel war on Iran was expected to take up most of the discussion. The talks ended without a joint communique or a chair's statement, Japan's Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama told reporters. The meeting took place alongside the IMF and World Bank annual meetings, which run in the Thai capital from October 12 to 18. Shipping disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has kept crude above $100 a barrel for much of the past eight months, Al Jazeera reported.aljazeera.com+1

Calls to reopen Hormuz

Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said before the meeting that he would push for an end to the conflict and the reopening of the strait "because that's what the global economy desperately needs." He added that the war "is pushing up fuel prices, inflation and interest rates around the world".ministers.treasury.gov.au

Chalmers went further at a G20 breakfast. He said Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its attacks on commercial vessels and energy facilities "must end," and he also condemned Houthi attacks on shipping. He noted the G7's commitment to a coordinated release of 100 million barrels of oil and warned that "even with a swift and lasting resolution, markets will take time to readjust".ministers.treasury.gov.au

Inflation, rates and an absent chair

Delegates talked about how to tackle inflation driven by high oil prices and how to coordinate policy as long-term interest rates rise around the world, according to Jiji Press. Japan pressed the group to reaffirm that excessive swings in currency markets harm the global economy, NHK reported. Katayama said she stressed the need to "monitor financial markets with a high sense of urgency".nippon.com+2

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent did not attend, even though the United States holds the G20 presidency. US officials cited "domestic engagements," and Deputy Secretary Francis Brooke and Undersecretary Erin Browne represented Washington. The Bangkok meeting was the group's last full sit-down before the leaders' summit in Miami in December, according to the Atlantic Council.atlanticcouncil.org+1

Divisions persist

The last G20 finance meeting, held in Asheville, North Carolina, also ended without a communique after China objected to language on trade. Washington continues to press its concerns about "global imbalances".aljazeera.com

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly said the war will end soon. "They'll never have a nuclear weapon, and oil prices will drop like a rock," he told reporters on Wednesday, TRT World reported. Trump has also ruled out attacking Iran before the November 3 midterm elections while a US naval blockade of Iranian ports stays in place, Gulf News reported.trtworld.com+1