EURO : DRAGHI: REFERENCES TO CURRENCY WAR 'EXCESSIVE'.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi finds references to a currency war "really excessive". He believes that "very strong verbal discipline" should be applied when commenting on the matter. The ECB will, however, examine whether the exchange rate has had an impact on inflation, Draghi told members of the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON), on 18 February.

Aggressive monetary moves by the Bank of Japan in January, driving the yen down, had awoken fears that a currency war would break out. In Europe, the appreciation of the euro - which hit a 15-month high against the US dollar earlier in February - is seen with some concern in certain quarters, especially considering the dependency on exports of the economy. Draghi played down the significance of the matter, saying that the euro's exchange rate was "around its long-term average".

The ECB - focused principally on price stability - has no euro exchange rate target as such. But Draghi recognised that potential inflationary...