Friday, April 29, 2011

US has a strong dollar policy

This was an important week with both the Treasury secretary and Fed chairman noting that we want a strong dollar policy. The quotes from each are below. The Treasury secretary is the person who usually takes the lead on dollar policy and Geithner was very clear on the US view.

Bernanke was more nuanced in stating that a strong dollar policy is in the interest of the US and that his policies will get there in the medium term.

"Our policy has been and will always be, as long as at least I'm in this job, that a strong dollar is in our interest as a country," he said at the Council on Foreign Relations.

"We will never embrace a strategy of trying to weaken our currency to try to gain economic advantage," Geithner vowed, responding to a question about the dollar's recent slide.

"The Federal Reserve believes that a strong and stable dollar is both in American interests and in the interest of the global economy," Bernanke said at a news conference. "In our view, if we do what's needed to pursue our dual mandate for price stability, maximum employment, that will also generate fundamentals that will help the dollar in the medium term."

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