Finance ministers of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations said the worst of the global economic slump might be nearly over, despite a mixed picture in the U.S., a further slowdown in Europe, and more gloom in Japan, The Wall Street Journal is reporting today.

At a meeting in Rome on Saturday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill says he expects the U.S. economy to improve to more than 2% growth by the fourth quarter, and 3% or more next year, a turnaround that would breathe some life back into the global economy.

The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 1.2% in the first quarter.

The upbeat message from the U.S. came as finance officials sought to play down recent finger-pointing over who is responsible for the slowdown in the global economy — and over who needs to do what to put it back on track, the Journal reports.

The corrections in the U.S. economy at the moment should lead to higher rates of real growth fairly soon, Mr. O’Neill says. He pointed to recent data on housing starts and on sales of cars and light trucks as signs of strength.

Even though unemployment rose slightly in June to 4.5%, that rate remains below that of most months since 1972, he added.