Jean-Claude Trichet, European Central Bank president, has sounded the alarm over the relentless rise of the euro – signalling policymakers’ heightened concern about the economic damage threatened by the currency’s recent surge.

“In present circumstances, we are concerned about excessive exchange rate moves,” he said in prepared comments after a meeting of the world’s central bank governors in Basel, Switzerland. “Excessive volatility and disorderly movements…are undesirable for economic growth.”