European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said yesterday that US authorities were interested in a strong dollar.

"Foreign exchange rates are regularly examined in the Group of Seven," Mr Trichet said at a function in the Swiss city of Lausanne.

"The last time we have looked into this point . . . we noted with big interest that the United States said they were convinced a strong dollar was in the interest of the country," he said.

The euro briefly rose above $1.41 yesterday, the highest level since the common currency was launched in 1999, buoyed by a half-percentage point cut in US interest rates earlier this week and expectations of more to come.

The euro's rise has intensified tension between the ECB and the French government, with French president Nicolas Sarkozy repeatedly blaming ECB policies for sluggish domestic economic growth and the euro's strength.

Mr Sarkozy has said the strong euro is damaging French exporters and on Thursday he suggested the ECB should cut its interest rates to boost the euro- zone economy.

Mr Trichet said yesterday, with regard to the central bank's monetary policy stance, that he had nothing new to add to the comments he made at his most recent news conference.

"On monetary policy I have nothing to say other than what I have already said . . . at the press conference of the governing council," he told journalists.

The ECB kept its benchmark rate on hold at 4 per cent on September 6th and Mr Trichet told a news conference after the decision that, given the high level of uncertainty, additional information was needed before further conclusions on monetary policy could be drawn.

Mr Trichet said that the central bank was monitoring the ongoing market turbulence.

"The market correction is not something that we ignored," Mr Trichet said.

"The correction included episodes with high levels of volatility and turbulent behaviour," he explained, adding: "We will take the appropriate action in this context."

The euro's move through the psychologically important $1.40 level - seen as a pain barrier for euro zone exporters - sparked a chorus of calls from European politicians urging the European Central Bank to abandon its monetary tightening bias.

Analysts said that while Mr Trichet might not share the view that euro zone interest rates should be cut, he was not unconcerned about the effects of the euro's rise.

Oil slipped below $82 a barrel yesterday as energy companies prepared to return workers to the offshore Gulf of Mexico after a storm triggered evacuations earlier in the week.

Some 27.7 per cent of the gulf's oil production was shut down by the foul weather, but at least two oil companies said yesterday that they were planning to resume production soon.

The tropical depression, the tenth to form so far during this Atlantic hurricane season, was expected to hit the Mississippi coast sometime today. -