ECB’s Draghi warns of revising strategy if US comments lead to a change in monetary conditions
The European Central Bank president says the surge in the euro is a source of uncertainty
Frankfurt — European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi warned on Thursday that the surge in the euro was a source of uncertainty and said the bank might have to review its strategy if US comments on a weak dollar led to a change in monetary conditions. Investors were eagerly awaiting Draghi’s comments on the euro after ECB policy makers kept interest rates and guidance unchanged, all the more since US treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin talked of the benefits of a weak dollar on Wednesday. This triggered a rally in the euro to three-year highs, threatening the ECB’s policy of pushing eurozone inflation higher. Mnuchin said at Davos this week that he welcomed a weak dollar, arguing that it was good for US trade, and US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross said "US troops are now coming to the ramparts" in global trade wars. Asked at his news conference about the prospect of a global currency war, Draghi re-affirmed bank policy not to target a given exchange rate. "We don’t target exch...
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