(Bloomberg) — Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said a strong dollar is an advantage in helping the US to finance large fiscal deficits for now, but called on the winner of November’s presidential election to lead a new initiative to rein in the federal debt burden.
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“I think it is a good thing,” Mnuchin said when asked if the dollar’s strength was positive for the US economy. “For one, the dollar is the reserve currency of the world, and that’s allowed us to finance these very large deficits.”
The dollar has soared some 13% against the Japanese yen over the past 12 months, with smaller advances against other major currencies. Confidence in the greenback as a store of value over time has helped support demand for US Treasuries, the largest and most liquid bond market in the world.
Mnuchin served under former President Donald Trump, who sometimes advocated for a weaker exchange rate to help…
