Obama Punts on Dollar Devaluation Question

NEW DELHI (AP) — President Barack Obama has sidestepped a question of whether the Federal Reserve may have weakened the value of the dollar by purchasing $600 billion worth of government bonds to aid the economy.

Obama noted at a news conference in New Delhi that the Fed "doesn't take orders from the White House," saying it would be inappropriate for him to comment directly on the action. The move last week aimed at making loans cheaper and getting consumers to spend more.

But Obama did say Monday that "the Fed's mandate, my mandate, is to grow our economy." He said "that's not just good for the United States, it's good for the world as a whole."

The president said the worst scenario for America would be to "end up being stuck with no growth or very limited growth." He said, "I think that's the Fed's concern and my concern as well."