- A weaker kiwi dollar would not necessarily be better for exporters, Prime Minister John Key says
- And the Government wants only a “slightly” lower exchange rate
- “Exporters are doing well. We’re selling more to the world than we’re buying from the world.”
- Some, but not all, would benefit if the dollar was weaker, Key said, depending on the circumstances.
“If the reason was because commodity prices were considerably lower, then the answer to that is not necessarily.” - Key, a former international foreign exchange trader, said the United States had for a long period had a policy of a strong dollar to make its economy competitive and to make the country wealthy.
“Of course, we’d like to have a bit of both, a slightly more competitive exchange rate, but certainly [a] more innovative economy,” he said. - Key dedicated more of his answers to the risks faced by consumers if the dollar were to fall, rather than the impact on the economy. “You’ve just got to be careful what you wish for because a substantial reduction in the exchange rate would certainly see a lot of consumer goods that consumers in New Zealand buy go up in price.”
Link is here: Risks with weaker dollar: Key
h/t and thanks to TomNZ in the comments here
