Heightened concern at the euro’s strength was signalled on Thursday by Jean-Claude Trichet, European Central Bank president, as a survey indicated the currency’s rise was hitting eurozone export and growth prospects.

Escalating his rhetoric on global exchange rates, Mr Trichet warned at a meeting of European finance ministers in Gothenberg, Sweden, that “disorderly movements” would have “adverse implications” for economies. His comments, which pushed the euro lower on Thursday, pointed to ECB concern that the currency’s rise is adding to the threats facing the eurozone’s still-fragile recovery – an issue European policymakers are expected to bring up at this weekend’s meeting of G7 industrial nations in Istanbul.