US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Friday a strong US dollar was good for America and that the robust performance of the US economy was driving movements in currency markets. His comments supported a long-standing policy of the Treasury that strength in the currency was positive if it reflected economic fundamentals rather than efforts by foreign governments to gain an unfair edge in global trade.
The dollar has surged about 20 percent against its major trading partners since early May. Lew suggested that fundamentals were a factor in its rise.
"Other parts of the globe are not doing as well. That leads to some movement in currencies," Lew said in an interview with US network CNBC from Davos, Switzerland.
"The strong dollar, as all of my predecessors have joined me in saying, is a good thing. It's good for America."
The dollar has been boosted partly by expectations that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates in 2015, while many other central banks ease monetary policy to help their flagging economies.
The European Central Bank, for example, announced a program on Thursday to pump euros into the region's banks, while Switzerland, Denmark and Canada have also cut rates recently.
The Fed wants to head off stronger inflation that is expected to come with economic growth. The US economy expanded at a 5 percent annual rate in the third quarter. Lew said weakness in the global economy would weigh on America, but wouldn't keep its economy from growing.
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