Asia has momentum but inflation worry weighs: Nukaga

MADRID (Reuters) - Asian economies still have growth momentum even as the United States faces a slowdown but soaring energy and food prices are fanning inflation concerns, Japanese Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga said on Saturday.

Speaking ahead of the meeting of Asian finance ministers in Madrid on Sunday, Nukaga told reporters: "Compared with the United States, I think there is still momentum (in Asian economies). The interdependency between the U.S. and Asia is deepening, so there is no way that we won't feel any effects."

"But it is important for the global economy to minimize this impact and maintain the standards of Asian economies," he said.

Nukaga added: "Globally, energy prices and food prices are rising and some Asian countries have inflation concerns. They are faced with a difficult task of (tackling) inflation and maintaining the economy... it is important we discuss this issue."

Japan has also felt the heat from soaring raw material costs, with annual inflation jumping to a decade high of 1.2 percent in March.

Finance Ministers from ASEAN plus China, Japan, and South Korea (ASEAN+3) meet on Sunday on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank in Madrid.

Asian leaders have been promoting closer financial ties to help avoid a repeat of the financial crisis that rocked the region in 1997.

Nukaga said the ministers will exchange views on how to overcome the possible economic impact from the U.S. subprime mortgage problems and the resulting financial market uncertainty.

(Reporting by Natsuko Waki; Editing by Dominic Evans)