France Says Weak Dollar May Fuel Protections

PARIS — France’s finance minister on Wednesday urged central bankers to reduce the “misalignment” in the world’s major currencies, warning that a low American dollar was feeding an increasing trend toward protectionism in the United States and elsewhere.

The minister, Christine Lagarde, said the dollar’s decline was a central cause for the rising cost of oil, which is priced in American dollars. On Wednesday, the price of a barrel of crude oil settled at another record, $133.17.
Anxiety about high energy costs, unbalanced currencies and slowing growth causes politicians to re-examine their domestic economies, Ms. Lagarde said. “Protectionism is trendy at the moment,” she said in an interview. “We need to turn that risk of extreme protectionism into something positive, and I think regulators, governments and international organizations have a responsibility to offer an alternative path that includes more regulation and policy coordination.”

New York Times