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European officials said they are concerned the euro's advance risks damping economic growth after the currency rose past $1.60 to the dollar for the first time.

“I don't like the way things are developing,'' Luxembourg Finance Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who leads a group of counterparts from the euro area, told reporters in Luxembourg today. “Financial markets should pay higher attention to developments to come and should be concentrating less on short- term'' data.

The euro has climbed more than 9 percent against the dollar this year as the European Central Bank has kept its key interest rate on hold to fight inflation while the U.S. Federal Reserve cut borrowing costs in an effort to stave off a recession. The currency reached $1.6019 against the dollar yesterday, the highest since its debut in 1999.

French European Union Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet joined Juncker in signaling that the euro's gains against the U.S. currency will hurt Europe's economy, saying “exchange-rate evolutions and the euro topping $1.60 is a worrying phenomenon.'' Speaking on LCI television, Jouyet urged greater coordination with the U.S., Japan and China to stem the European currency's advance.

Finance chiefs from the Group of Seven nations this month signaled concern on the dollar's decline for the first time in 13 years by saying recent “sharp fluctuations'' in exchange rates risk hurting the world economy same day payday loans.

`Sharp Moves'

At the G-7 meeting, “we did express the view that the excessive volatility is undesirable for the economic growth and that we didn't like sharp moves as far as the exchange rates are concerned,'' Juncker said. “It was not the intention of the G-7 to lead to the result we are noting today.''

The G-7 statement is “crystal clear,'' he said, adding that the finance chiefs were referring to volatility in foreign- exchange markets, not to particular currency rates “as being excessive.''

“We are observing an excessive volatility for the moment,'' said Juncker, who also is Luxembourg's prime minister.

Jouyet also called for a “close'' dialogue among euro-area finance ministers, the ECB and the European Commission because the “current situation'' of the euro is hurting economic growth.

The euro pulled off its all-time high against the dollar today, trading at $1.5961 at 11:45 a.m. Brussels time, down 0.2 percent on the day.

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