Henry Paulson Is Too Smart a Man to Be Saying Such Dumb Things
November 9, 2007
Dollar Is World Currency "For A Reason": Paulson
By REUTERS
Filed at 4:25 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Friday defended the dollar's status as the world's reserve currency, saying the U.S. economy's strength, openness and competitiveness would "shine through" the current market turmoil.
"The dollar has been the world's reserve currency since World War II and it's been that for a reason. We are the biggest economy in the world, we are as open as any economy to investment, to trade and we've had stable economic policies ... we've had good productivity," Paulson told reporters at an impromptu news briefing on Friday.
Paulson repeated the administration's oft-stated mantra that a strong dollar is in U.S. interests and that currency values should be set in a competitive marketplace.
He acknowledged he has heard a lot of questions about the status of the dollar as the world's preferred reserve currency. While the housing downturn and credit mar…