Berlin  - The world's leading industrial nations are to consider steps to increase transparency in the world oil market, a senior German official said Tuesday amid growing fears of resurgent inflation.

Speaking to reporters in Berlin, deputy Finance Minister Thomas Mirow said Group of Eight (G8) finance ministers meeting in Japan this week would move "to get a grip" on oil prices which last week surged to an all-time high of just short of 140 dollars a barrel.

Combined with higher food prices, the sharp pickup in energy costs has raised fresh inflation fears as well as concerns about prospects of central banks around the world hiking interest rates to stamp out the renewed inflationary pressures.

Coming in the wake of the economic uncertainty unleashed by the US mortgage market upheaval and global financial crisis, signs that inflation was gaining momentum around the world are also seen by analysts as the latest threat to global economic growth.

"Improvements in (oil market) transparency were desirable" said Mirow.

Oil is also likely to be high on the agenda at talks later this week in Japan between finance ministers from the G8 nations - US, Japan, Germany, France, Great Britain, Canada and Russia - and their counterparts from Australia, Indonesia, South Korea, Thailand, China and India.

The meeting forms part of the buildup to the annual meeting in July of G8 leaders in on the island of Hokkaido in Japan. Tokyo currently holds the G8 presidency.

Mirow's views echo remarks made earlier this month by Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who also called for greater transparency in oil markets.

The German deputy finance minister went on to say that a proposal from French President Nicolas Sarkozy for greater action to stem the rising price of oil, including use of improved energy efficiency, would also be supported by the G8.

As part of moves to undercut skyrocketing oil prices, Sarkozy also suggested European Union nations suspend at least part of the value- added tax levied on oil. However, this as so far met with a lukewarm response from key EU figures.

In his remarks to reporters, Mirow said that the extent to which speculation plays a role in determining the price of oil should also be investigated.

The world's leading central banks have also expressed deepening concern about the threats posed by growing inflation.

Last week European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet placed investors on notice that a rate hike could be in the pipeline, with the ECB considering raising borrowing costs at its meeting next month.

This was followed up by US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke indicating that the American bank's rate-cutting cycle could be coming to an end by declaring that inflationary pressures needed to be strongly resisted.

Mirow told reporters that the central banks concerns should be "taken very seriously."

He also said there were also mixed signs of recovery from the global financial crisis which first began to emerge about a year ago. (dpa)