WARSAW (AFP) - US Treasury Secretary John Snow gave no signal of a shift in the US dollar policy after the greenback slumped to yet another low against the euro and fresh complaints were aired by an EU official.
"Everybody knows what our position is -- a strong dollar, (and) currency values set in open markets," Snow said in response to a question at a news conference in Warsaw, where he met with several officials from the region.
Snow has maintained consistent language in recent weeks when asked about the dollar, apparently ruling out any US support for intervention to stem the slide in the currency. Some analysts argue that Washington favors a weaker currency to help exports and the economy but Snow has denied this.
In Paris earlier, outgoing EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said the dollar was falling too rapidly in the face of huge US budget and current account deficits in the United States.
"It's a weakness that is worrying," Lamy told the French radio network BFM.
"The dollar is falling too fast," he said, addding that such a trend was "hardly surprising when one considers the level of the US deficits."
German Finance Minister Hans Eichel said meanwhile in Berlin the United States, Europe and Japan should take a common position against the current "brutal" rise in the euro.
"It's a brutal development, as (European Central Bank chief) Jean-Claude Trichet has said," Eichel told German ARD public television on Thursday.
"It will have to be talked about. But, as befits currency issues, such discussions should take place behind closed doors and hopefully Japan, the US and Europe will be able to find a common position," the German finance minister said.
Comments from Snow have been taken by markets as a sign that Washington welcomes a weaker currency -- to the alarm of eurozone officials as the euro hit new highs Thursday.
European leaders fear that a continuing surge in the euro will dampen eurozone exports and snuff out an already struggling recovery in the region.
11/18/2004 - 16:45 GMT - AFP