The ECB is concerned about the influence the US on the exchange, says Nowotny

ZURICH (Reuters) – The european central Bank is concerned about the propensity of the United States to exert “political influence” on the exchange rate and intends to raise the issue at the next G20 summit, says Ewald Nowotny, the chairman of the national Bank of Austria, in an interview published Sunday.

“The ECB is definitely concerned about the attempts of the United States to exert political influence on the exchange rate”, he told austrian television ORF.

“This has been a theme of economic debates in Davos (…) and this will still certainly the case at the next summit of the G20,” added Nowotny, who sits on the governing council of the ECB.

The ministers of Finance and governors of central banks of the G20 will meet on march 19 and 20, in Argentina.

In an interview published on Wednesday, Ewald Nowotny accused already in Washington having deliberately makes pressure on the dollar to maintain its downward trend and thus promote u.s. exports.

The greenback has depreciated 10% in 2017 and still shows a decline of 2% since the beginning of 2018.

The boss of the austrian central bank has also attributed the good health of the u.s. economy to the policy of the former president Barack Obama rather than to that of his successor, Donald Trump.

“It is necessary to consider the economy over a longer period. The United States currently benefit from the legacy of the previous government and the policy (money) from the Fed”, he said.

(John Miller, Véronique Tison for the French service)