U.S., Europe united in desire for stronger dollar: report

TOKYO (Reuters) - Officials in the United States and Europe are now united in their desire to see the dollar strengthen against the euro, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing officials on both sides of the Atlantic.

Policymakers have welcomed the dollar's recovery from record lows hit last month and are concerned that currency markets have paid too much attention to short-term troubles in the United States rather than the medium-term prospects for both the U.S. and euro zone economies, the FT said, citing a U.S. official.

Traders said the article was one factor behind the euro slipping to a two-month low of $1.5333 on Thursday.

The FT said officials in both the U.S. and Europe wanted to avoid a situation where the dollar fell too far against the euro and then snapped back as investors realized the U.S. economy was not headed for a depression and European growth was softening.

Officials also wanted to avoid a situation where the dollar's slide reinforced the surge in oil prices, even as officials did not believe the dollar's fall was the main factor behind the spike in oil, the FT said.

A senior U.S. official was cited as saying the latest communique from the Group of Seven economic powers represented an important shift in a new agreed position on the dollar.

The G7 surprised investors in mid-April by tweaking its language on currencies to say that there have been sharp fluctuations in major currencies and saying it was concerned about the impact on economic and financial stability.

The dollar hit a record low near $1.60 to the euro in late April but has since rebounded, partly on mounting signs of slowing growth in the euro zone.

The dollar index .DXY, a gauge of its performance against six major currencies, has recovered more than 4 percent from a all-time low struck in mid-March.

(Reporting by Eric Burroughs; Editing by Rodney Joyce)