May 15, 2003	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 12, 1424

WASHINGTON, May 14: The United States continues to support a strong dollar, the White House said on Wednesday, adding that Treasury Secretary John Snow had described US policy “exactly as it is.”

“The Treasury Secretary said the policy exactly as it is,” White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters. “The US continues to support a strong dollar.”

The dollar fell against major currencies on Monday after Snow told an ABC television programme that a weaker dollar was helping US exports. Traders said this implied the United States was tacitly backing away from its long-standing strong dollar policy, despite frequent repetition of the mantra.

“Our policy is to have a strong dollar — emphasizing that the strong dollar means a dollar that is a good store of value, it’s a good medium of exchange, a currency people will be willing to hold, denominate their assets in,” Snow said in the interview. Fleischer said Snow had reiterated his support for a strong dollar.—Reuters