The Group of Seven leading industrial nations have issued their strongest expression of concern in more than seven years about sharp currency swings by flagging the economic and financial risks such moves pose.
After months of sharp rhetoric from Europe protesting the euro's speedy rise, particularly to record highs against the US dollar, G7 finance officials in Washington hammered out a new message of heightened alarm about big currency swings.
"Since our last meeting, there have been at times sharp fluctuations in major currencies, and we are concerned about their possible implications for economic and financial stability," they said in a statement.
That marked the biggest overhaul of their declaration on currencies since their Boca Raton meeting in 2004, when they first expressed worry currency volatility could dent growth. The new statement - decidedly more pointed that the phraseology it replaced - is intended to signal to markets that the G7 is closely focused on recent currency moves.
Moreover, it was the first time since the Prague G7 meeting of 2000 that the seven rich nations have united to voice explicit concern about moves in major currencies, though back then it was a weakening euro that was causing them to fret.
"This change in the language of the G7 communique regarding forex shows a concern we have not seen for some years," Italian Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa told reporters.
The G7 is made up of the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Canada and Italy.