Italian Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti backed on Thursday the idea of a new global currency for international transactions, while keeping existing currencies for domestic use. Tremonti applauded a proposal made last month by China's central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan to create a new global reserve currency, but he said this should not mean the end of existing domestic units.
"The Chinese governor's idea is of extreme interest, an idea that evokes a single world currency," Tremonti said at a book presentation in Rome, adding that it may nonetheless be too complicated for ordinary citizens. "It would be better to have dual circulation, a global currency for international operations and local currencies for local operations," Tremonti said.