Australia won't intervene to weaken dollar: trade minister

SASKATOON: Australia will not follow Japan and Switzerland in intervening in foreign exchange markets to weaken its currency, even though its strength is hurting the manufacturing sector, Trade Minister Craig Emerson said in an interview on Friday.

"Whatever other countries do, we need to do what we think is best for Australia and to adhere to the philosophy of an open and competitive economy," Emerson said after meetings of the Cairns Group of agricultural exporting countries in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.

"We're not a country that seeks to fix the dollar, and we won't be doing that."

Copyright Reuters, 2011