Euro zone finance ministers were meeting in Brussels last night amid mounting anxiety over the impact of a soaring euro on economic growth. A number of ministers yesterday expressed concern about the continued strength of the euro, which again approached the record $1.346 it reached last week.

France's new finance minister, Mr Herve Gaymard, said that Europe, the United States and Asian countries should work together to halt the dollar's fall.

"This slide must not continue and there needs to be better management of these rates at the international level," he said.

Greece's Mr George Alogoskoufis said there was little the EU could do on its own to tackle the problem of dollar weakness.