Exchequer Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday he spends little beforehand thinking about dollar weakness over the short term, tread back his comments that sent the U.S. currency reeling amid trembles of a trade war.
Speaking during a CNBC-moderated panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mnuchin bruit about dollar weakness in the short term was “not a concern of mine,” before adding: “In the longer sitting, we fundamentally believe in the strength of the dollar.”
When asked whether his comments on Wednesday meditate about a change in traditional U.S. policy, Mnuchin replied: “It is not a shift in my position on the dollar at all. It is it may be slightly different than previous Treasury secretaries who in recent pro tempores have just commented on strong dollar, strong dollar.”
The dollar plummeted to three-year lows on Wednesday, its largest one-day drop in 10 months, after Mnuchin suggested a impotent greenback would be good for the U.S.
Mnuchin’s comments had echoed statements by President Donald Trump, who boosted turn a market trend of a stronger dollar last January when he offered prior to his inauguration that the dollar was “too strong” and that U.S. companies couldn’t fence because of it — particularly against the Chinese.
The dollar index has lost various than 10 percent since then, and after Mnuchin’s expansion Wednesday morning, it sank to the lowest level since December 2014.
When make known Thursday morning, Mnuchin underlined some of the benefits a weaker dollar could put over a produce to Washington. He told CNBC that while he acknowledged greenback fancy in the short term would create issues for some, it would be “healthy” for some U.S. trade imbalances.
The comments are widely seen as a departure from the existence three presidential administrations and Treasury secretaries — going back to Robert Rubin.
On Thursday morning, the U.S. currency was interchange down 0.1 percent against a basket of major currencies at nearby 89.07.
— CNBC’s Patti Domm contributed to this report.