Zeev's Turnips Patch-No Politics (ZEEV)

[Rick Faurot]

Euro Hits 4-Year High on Snow Comments
Sun May 11, 2003 07:26 PM ET
TOKYO (Reuters) - The euro hit another four-year high against the dollar on Monday after U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said a cheap U.S. currency would help U.S. exports.
"When the dollar is at a lower level it helps exports, and I think exports are getting stronger as a result," Snow said on a U.S. television program on Sunday.
On another program, Snow said Washington was committed to a strong dollar but that its value would be set by markets.
"The fact that he mentioned the benefits of a weak dollar could be taken as a sign that he accepts weak dollar. His comments will set the tone of the market this week," said Shogo Nagaya, forex manager at Nomura Trust and Banking Corp in Tokyo.
The dollar has been steadily weakening in recent weeks on doubts about the outlook for the U.S. economy and due to lower U.S. interest rates compared to those of other currencies.
As of 7:20 p.m. EDT Sunday, the euro was at $1.1572/77 EUR= , up about three quarters of a percent from about $1.1490 in late U.S. trade on Friday, and hitting its highest level since January 1999.


http://www.reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=32PABDPR0HB4UCRBAELCFFA?type=businessNews...