European finance ministers have urged the US to revive the dollar, which stands near record lows against the euro, or wreak further damage on eurozone growth prospects.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the Luxembourg Prime Minister and Finance Minister, urged the US to implement a strong dollar policy for the sake of global prosperity.

"The United States has no interest in seeing the dollar fall as it has," Mr Juncker, who takes over as head of the 12-nation euro group in January, said.

"That could endanger the European recovery and weak growth in the eurozone is in the interest of neither the United States nor Europe."

The comments follow data last week showing marginal growth in France and Germany, the eurozone's largest economy, with the strength of the euro blamed for hitting exports. Many European figures have also talked of intervention to weaken the currency.

The euro hovered today near an all-time high of more than $1.30 set last week.

Hopes of a dollar rebound were given some support by John Snow, the US Treasury Secretary, who said that President Bush was aware of the size of the country's budget deficit, on which many economists blame the weakness of its currency.

"In the United States we know that our deficit's too large," he told BBC Radio 4's Today.

"It's unwelcome, it needs to come down. The president is committed to bringing it down."

He added that the fundamentals of the US economy were "excellent, with "low inflation, low interest rates, high productivity and strong GDP growth with lots of jobs being created".

However, figures this afternoon showed that US producer prices saw their biggest monthly increase in 14 years last month.

Producer prices leapt by 1.7 per cent in October against September, although core producer prices, which exclude volatile food and energy, went up 0.3 per cent, the US Labor Department said.

Analysts had expected a 0.6 per cent rise in producer prices between September and October and just a 0.1 per cent increase in core producer prices over the same period.

Producer prices - a measure of inflation at the wholesale level - increased by 4.4 per cent year-on-year last month, while the core prices rose 1.8 per cent.

As with the UK inflation figures published today, the soaring cost of oil and other energy sources was influential: US energy prices surged 6.8 per cent.

Mr Juncker voiced his concerns as European finance ministers met to discuss the stability and growth pact which was drawn up to underpin the euro but has foundered on the failure of some countries to meet the rules.

Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, used the meeting to restate Britain's entitlement to a €4.6 billion (£3.22 billion) rebate which, since being won 20 years ago by Margaret Thatcher, has come under increasing attack from other EU states.

"Our rebate remains fully justified," Mr Brown told reporters. "We have already paid 58 billion euros to the EU budget since 1984."

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