28 March 2002, 09:13 O'Neill says strong dollar policy unchanged after Fed's McDonough remarks
WASHINGTON (AFX) - The US government's strong dollar policy remains
unchanged, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said after comments from
Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William McDonough yesterday,
indicating the currency is theoretically overvalued.
"Our policy is the same. We're in the right place: strong dollar,
same policy, no change," O'Neill said in an interview with CNBC when
asked to react to remarks yesterday by McDonough.
McDonough said the dollar is "slightly overvalued" on a purchasing
power parity basis.
"I'd be willing to bet you anything that he wished he hadn't
engaged in some theoretical speculation" about the dollar, O'Neill
said.
He repeated his often-used statement that "if we're going to
announce something (regarding dollar policy) I'm going to rent the
Yankee Stadium."
The dollar fell after McDonough's remarks yesterday, although
analysts later noted that he also had said the dollar could remain
strong going forward thanks to the higher growth rate in the US
relative to other countries.
Separately, O'Neill said he is "anxious" for Argentina to quickly
reach agreement with the IMF on policy actions it will take to create
sustainable growth, including a timetable for implementation.
He said he urged Argentine Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov in
a meeting in Mexico last week to "stipulate the actions that need to be
taken and the timetable that they will execute them on so that the IMF
can begin flowing funds to Argentina again."
© 1999-2024 Forex EuroClub
All rights reserved