Seven of the world's wealthiest nations said on Saturday they will act together or individually to calm markets in the wake of a global economic downturn, but stopped short of prescribing specific measures.

Finance ministers from the G7 group, meeting for one day of talks in Tokyo, said the fundamentals of the world economy remained "solid" and that the U.S. economy was likely to escape a recession this year.

However, they also listed several factors that are fuelling concerns.

"We note that downside risks still persist, which include further deterioration of the U.S. residential housing markets; tighter credit conditions from prolonged difficulties in the financial markets; high oil and commodity prices; and heightened inflation expectations in some countries," a G7 communiqué said. 

No single remedy was recommended to bolster the global economy, but Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney indicated further interest rate cuts are likely needed in Canada.

"I'm comfortable with the statement that additional monetary stimulus is likely to be required in the near term," Carney told reporters in Tokyo, referring to a Bank of Canada statement issued as it trimmed its key lending rate by a quarter of a percentage point to four per cent on Jan. 22.

"Each of us has taken actions, appropriate to our domestic circumstances, in the areas of liquidity provision, monetary policy and fiscal policy," the G7 statement released on Saturday said.

"We also remain committed to strengthening our efforts to enhance growth through necessary reforms. Going forward, we will continue to watch developments closely and will continue to take appropriate actions, individually and collectively, in order to secure stability and growth in our economies."

The officials from the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Canada, Britain and Italy also urged oil-producing nations to boost output and encouraged China to accelerate the appreciation of its currency.

The G7 had faced calls for increased co-ordinated action to deal with a slew of economic problems, including the U.S. housing crisis over subprime mortgage loans, financial market turmoil, high oil and commodity prices, and heightened inflation expectations.

The various countries, however, have differed on what measures would be appropriate. The U.S. has urged other countries to pursue policies to boost domestic demand, while the European countries focused more on regulatory co-ordination, saying their economies were resilient.

Japanese Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga, who hosted the gathering at a Tokyo hall, said the economic conditions in each nation were so different that a single remedy was not feasible.

With files from the Associated Press