8 February G7 finance ministers' meeting

FINANCE ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the United States agreed on the level the US dollar should stay at to prevent it from undermining European growth. When they met two years ago, EU members considered the dollar was too low, allowing US exporters to undercut their European counterparts. This time, after the dollar'ssteady rise over the past year, Europeans said it had gone up enough. “We are satisfied with the dollar,” said German Finance Minister Theo Waigel. “We wanted a stronger dollar, and that is what we have.” The dollar's rise has helped boost European exports, enabling EU economies to grow as member states race towards the deadline for a single currency in 1999. But Union governments fear that too much of a rise could be destabilising. Japan has also been a victim of the strengthening of the dollar – the US currency has risen 50% against the yen in the past two years. Tokyo finance bureau chief Eisuke Sakakibara said Japan would work with G7partners to bolster the yen if it fell further.