GENOA, July 22 - U.S. President George W. Bush said on Sunday that some Americans favoured a weaker dollar but it was up to the markets to set the level of the currency.
"Let me reiterate what I said after my World Bank speech: the dollar needs to float in the market place and, that if the markets are allowed to function, the dollar will reach the appropriate level," Bush told a news conference after a Group of Eight meeting in Genoa.
"There are some who want us to artificially weaken the dollar, within our country and outside, and that is not the role, in my judgement, of the country. The market ought to do that, not the nation."
Bush added: "I continued to assure my friends and allies that we will let the market adjust. I also assured them that we were taking the steps necessary, within our country, to strengthen our economy."
Bush acknowledged last week that the strength of the dollar was hurting U.S. exporters, but White House officials stressed that this was not a departure from the longstanding U.S. "strong dollar" policy.