Go Symbol Lookup
Loading...

Stocks Fall After Fed Minutes Show Willingness to Taper in June

What Fed Policy Does to the Dollar

 Text Size  
Published: Friday, 28 Sep 2012 | 7:17 AM ET
Kelley Holland By:

News Writer

Sozaijiten | Datacraft | Getty Images

Treasury secretaries usually extol the virtues of a strong dollar - but not this time.

When you think of a Treasury secretary's usual approach to currencies, you can probably recall any number of instances where a Treasury chief talks about dollar strength.

Now comes Lawrence Summers, a former Treasury secretary, singing a different tune.

"The right thing to do is to focus on the fundamentals of the economy, and if we get the fundamentals right over time, exchange rates will fluctuate but they will be all right as well," he told CNBC. "The Federal Reserve is right to be making judgements in the context of the overall economy and they're right to have a concern about the slowing of the economy."

Is Fed Policy Damaging the US Dollar?
"I think the right thing to do is focus on the fundamentals of the economy," says Lawrence Summers, Harvard University professor, adding, "over time the exchange rate will fluctuate, but they will be alright as well."

As for specific Fed policies, Summers is coy.

"Old habits die hard," he says. "Respecting the independence of the Federal Reserve - you're not going to get me to make a comment evaluating those measures one way or the other." In general, though, he says, "the judgement that monetary policy ought to be oriented to domestic growth is the right approach."

You heard it here first.

Tune In: CNBC's "Money in Motion Currency Trading" airs on Fridays at 5:30pm and repeats on Saturdays at 7pm.

Learn more: The essential vocabulary for currency trading is on Key Terms Dictionary. Top currency strategies are broken down for you in Currency Class.

Talk back: Tell us what you want to hear about - email us at moneyinmotion@cnbc.com.

 Print
Treasury secretaries usually extol the virtues of a strong dollar - but not this time.

   
Comments

 

More Comments

 
 

Add Comments

 

Your Comments (Up to 1100 characters):

Remaining characters

Your comments have not been posted yet.

Please review your submission to make sure you are comfortable with your entry.

Your Comments:


                
            
            
        

Featured

Community

  • Crosses. Pairs. The figure. What do these terms mean? Click on Key Currency Terms, and learn the essential vocabulary used every day in the $4 trillion dollar currency market.

  • Sign up for CNBC's Money In Motion Currency Trading Editions of Morning Brief and Evening Brief.