By David Lawder

WASHINGTON, Feb 10 (Reuters) – U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Tuesday that he views the weaker dollar as being at a “more natural” level to promote U.S. exports and expand economic growth.

Lutnick, asked about recent dollar weakness at a U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee, said that for many years the dollar was manipulated higher by other countries to export more to the U.S., but President Donald Trump was changing trade dynamics.

“So the idea is, the dollar, where it is now, is just more natural. We are exporting more, and that’s why our GDP has grown so much, right?” Lutnick said.

He added that he thinks fourth quarter 2025 GDP will exceed 5% and could top 6% in the first quarter of 2026.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the administration’s traditional spokesperson on the dollar’s value, has repeatedly insisted that the U.S. has a “strong dollar policy,” and that the economic steps it is taking to make the U.S. attractive to foreign investment supports that.

The dollar hit a four-year low in late January after Trump said the greenback’s weakness was “great.”

The dollar’s weakness has stemmed from multiple factors: expectations of continued Federal Reserve rate cuts, tariff uncertainty, policy volatility including threats to Fed independence, and rising fiscal deficits, all of which have eroded investor confidence in U.S. economic stability.

On Tuesday, the dollar traded mostly lower against major currencies after data indicating slower than expected growth in consumer spending in December, and as the yen strengthened again following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s election victory.

U.S. Commerce Department data on Tuesday showed U.S. retail sales were unexpectedly unchanged in December, putting pressure on consumer spending – which constitutes two-thirds of the economy. Data-producing agencies are still catching up on releases after delays caused by last year’s government shutdown.

(Reporting by David Lawder; editing by Mark Heinrich)