Mnuchin says his comments on the dollar were ‘completely taken out of context’

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Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Treasury secretary, speaks to members of the media as he departs a press briefing on day three of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Friday his recent remarks on the U.S. dollar were misunderstood.

His comments were “completely taken out of context,” Mnuchin told The Wall Street Journal on Friday. He also said his remarks were a simple “statement of fact about the impact of a weaker dollar in the short term. I wasn’t intending to endorse it or encourage it in any way.”

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday, Mnuchin said he welcomed a weaker U.S. dollar, adding that it would benefit the country’s trade.

Mnuchin’s comments earlier in the week sent the dollar to its lowest levels in three years. The U.S. currency traded near those levels on Friday.

President Donald Trump told CNBC he also thought Mnuchin’s comments were taken out of context, noting he “read his exact statement.”

Click here to read the full Wall Street Journal report.

Click here to read the full transcript of President Trump’s interview with CNBC.