Loose money US believes in strong dollar

TOYAKO, July 6, 2008 (AFP) - President George W.







Bush on Sunday reaffirmed the United States' "strong dollar" policy, saying the US economy's fundamental strength would ultimately support the flagging currency.

"The US believes in a strong dollar policy and believes that the strength of our economy will be reflected in the dollar," he said ahead of the Group of Eight nations summit in Toyako in northern Japan.

Bush, during a joint press conference following a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yasua Fukuda on the sidelines of the G8 summit that starts here Monday, however admitted that his country's economy was struggling.

"Our economy is not growing as robustly as we'd like," he said.

"We had positive growth in the first quarter, we'll see what happens here in the second quarter, but nevertheless we're not as strong as we've been under a lot of my presidency," he conceded.

The dollar has slid badly over the past few years, losing more than 30 percent of its value against the euro.

The greenback stood at 1.57 to the European unit on Friday.

The US administration regularly reaffirms its commitment to its currency.

Bush restated the US "strong dollar" policy just as OPEC president