Berlin - Chancellor Angela Merkel revived on Saturday Germany's campaign of a year ago for global regulation of financial markets to prevent another crash like the past week's.

In an interview with a Munich newspaper, the Muenchner Merkur, she criticized the US and British governments for obstructing Germany's efforts in the first half of 2007 to bring greater transparency to the markets.

"Alongside national rules, we need more international agreements to deal with irresponsible speculators," she said. Her remarks were released before the newspaper was to print them on Monday.

Politicians and business leaders had to "draw the right conclusions from the current crisis," Merkel said.

"I deplore the conceit of the financial markets. They have resisted voluntary rules for too long, supported by the governments of Britain and the United States."

She said a single nation like Germany could do little by itself to fix the international financial system.

"That's why I and Finance Minister (Peer) Steinbrueck insisted back in 2007 during the German presidency of the Group of Eight that we need more rules for greater transparency in international money dealing, with the ratings agencies and with the hedge funds," she said.

"Some progress was made at the time, but it was not adequately supported by the United States and Britain," she charged. (dpa)