For Trichet, It's All About a Strong Euro

Wed, 03/09/2011 - 03:17 EDT - Seeking Alpha

John M. Mason submits: Jean-Claude Trichet, the President of the European Central Bank (ECB), made headlines toward the end of last week by suggesting that the ECB might have to raise its major interest rate in April.This suggestion raised quite a bit of controversy and also helped the euro to rise, briefly, to more than $1.40 per euro. It also, some said, set the stage for the weekend in Europe and the upcoming discussions about fiscal affairs in the eurozone countries. Trichet has been as hard-nosed as anyone in recent years about keeping inflation in check. And, since 2003 when he became President of the ECB, he has been adamant about maintaining an inflation target as the primary objective of the central bank.In doing so, he has been relatively successful in allowing eurozone economies to expand while keeping the euro strong, especially against the United States dollar.In this chart we seeComplete Story »

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For Trichet, It's All About a Strong Euro

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