BASEL, Switzerland, Nov 8 (Reuters) - No country is actively pursuing weak currency policies and excessive foreign exchange swings could hamper global growth, leading central bankers said on Monday.
Jean-Claude Trichet, speaking as chair of talks on the global economy at a Bank for International Settlements meeting, said central bankers did not even discuss returning to the Gold Standard to control currencies, adding it was a topic which surfaces from time to time in the United States.
"(Currency war) was not mentioned at all. I have to say that all participants mentioned they were not pursuing weak currency policies," European Central Bank chief Trichet said, adding that central banks were sticking to policies which would gradually create more flexibility in currencies.
"We did not discuss the Gold Standard," Trichet said. "In my memory such an idea was mentioned long time ago by Jim Baker when he was a Secretary of Treasury in the 1980s. I have no particular comment."
World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Monday leading economies should consider readopting a modified global gold standard to guide currency movements. [ID:nSGE6A70A7]
Central bankers attending the bi-monthly talks included People's Bank of China chief Zhou Xiaochuan and Bank of England Governor Mervyn King. (Reporting by Sakari Suoninen, editing by Mike Peacock)