Bush backs strong US dollar policy

US President George W Bush said yesterday the American economy was not growing as quickly as he would like and that his administration supported a strong dollar policy.

"Our economy is not growing as robustly as we'd like," Bush said after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda ahead of the G8 leaders summit.

"We had positive growth in the first quarter, we'll see what happens in the second quarter."

The economy in the United States grew at a one per cent annual rate in the first quarter amid soaring oil and commodity prices.

In a further sign of continuing weakness, the Labor Department reported last week US employers cut jobs for the sixth straight month in June.

"We're not as strong as we have been during a lot of my presidency," Bush added.

The Bush administration has come under pressure from abroad to take action to stabilise the weak US dollar, another issue likely to come up during the two-day G8 meetings which begin today at the lakeside resort of Toyako, after complaints the weakness has contributed to soaring food and fuel prices.

"In terms of the dollar, the United States believes in a strong dollar policy and believes the strength of our economy will be reflected in the dollar," Bush said when asked what world leaders could do to improve the economy and intervene to boost the dollar.

Leaders of the Group of Eight industrialised nations today begin three days of annual talks in the mountain resort town of Toyako that will be dominated by the fragile world economy and global warming.

Japanese press reports have said the G8 would likely agree to set up a task force on the food crisis or create a system of food reserves much like oil reserves.