US slams Germany calling the euro an 'implicit Deutsche Mark'
US President Donald Trump's chief trade adviser has accused Germany of using the euro to "exploit other countries in the EU as well as the US".
Peter Navarro, the head of Trump's new National Trade Council called the euro an "implicit Deutsche Mark" and opined that it is "grossly undervalued" in the pages of the Financial Times.
He added that Germany was one of the main obstacles to the US reaching a trade deal with the EU.
Navarro's comments sent the euro to an eight-week high against the dollar.
German chancellor Angela Merkel quickly responded in Stockholm.
"Germany is a country that has always called the European Central Bank to pursue an independent policy, just as the Bundesbank did that before the euro existed.
"Because of that we will not influence the behaviour of the ECB. And as a result, I cannot and do not want to change the situation as it is."
