Soros Says He's Selling the Dollar
Enviado: 20/5/2003 20:21NEW YORK (Reuters) - Billionaire investor George Soros, in an interview with cable television station CNBC on Tuesday, said he was selling the dollar against most major currencies.
In the wide-ranging interview in which he assailed the Bush administration's policies, Soros said he was buying the euro and the currencies of Australia, Canada and New Zealand against the dollar, as well as gold. The euro briefly broke above $1.17 following his comments before retreating.
"I have to disclose that I now have a short position against the dollar because I listen to what the Secretary of the Treasury is telling me," Soros said in the interview. He referred to recent remarks made by U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow that signaled a shift away from a strong dollar policy.
Soros was sharply critical of Snow's policy shift, branding it a "mistake," and labeling it a wrongheaded attempt to stimulate the U.S. economy at the expense of other economies.
"It's a beggar-thy-neighbor policy," he said. "I think (Snow) was somewhat irresponsible by talking down the dollar."
Soros was dubbed "The Man who broke the Bank of England" for his role in amassing bets that the pound would fall in 1992 -- thus facilitating Britain's ejection from Europe's exchange rate mechanism that year.
Though analysts say Soros' influence in markets has waned, many are reluctant to fight the trend that has seen the dollar fall sharply against major currencies.
With the dollar already under pressure, traders sent the euro above $1.17 , a fraction of a cent from Monday's four year high at $1.1738 -- a hair below the single currency's launch price. Gold, meanwhile, set a three-month high at $370 an ounce.
The Canadian dollar held a six-year high against its U.S. counterpart, trading near C$1.3476 , or 74.21 U.S. cents.
Abraços,
In the wide-ranging interview in which he assailed the Bush administration's policies, Soros said he was buying the euro and the currencies of Australia, Canada and New Zealand against the dollar, as well as gold. The euro briefly broke above $1.17 following his comments before retreating.
"I have to disclose that I now have a short position against the dollar because I listen to what the Secretary of the Treasury is telling me," Soros said in the interview. He referred to recent remarks made by U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow that signaled a shift away from a strong dollar policy.
Soros was sharply critical of Snow's policy shift, branding it a "mistake," and labeling it a wrongheaded attempt to stimulate the U.S. economy at the expense of other economies.
"It's a beggar-thy-neighbor policy," he said. "I think (Snow) was somewhat irresponsible by talking down the dollar."
Soros was dubbed "The Man who broke the Bank of England" for his role in amassing bets that the pound would fall in 1992 -- thus facilitating Britain's ejection from Europe's exchange rate mechanism that year.
Though analysts say Soros' influence in markets has waned, many are reluctant to fight the trend that has seen the dollar fall sharply against major currencies.
With the dollar already under pressure, traders sent the euro above $1.17 , a fraction of a cent from Monday's four year high at $1.1738 -- a hair below the single currency's launch price. Gold, meanwhile, set a three-month high at $370 an ounce.
The Canadian dollar held a six-year high against its U.S. counterpart, trading near C$1.3476 , or 74.21 U.S. cents.
Abraços,