The dollar strengthened against the euro today, appreciating 0.8 percent to trade at $1.4043 as of 11:10 a.m. in London.

Complaints

Officials in Germany, China and Brazil have complained that the U.S. hurt their economies by intentional devaluation through the $600 billion bond-purchase program that ended last month. While Dudley conceded in a New York speech on June 7 "it is at least possible" the Fed's bond buying "put some upward pressure on some" emerging-market currencies, he also said the U.S. central bank is "fully committed to keeping inflation in check and maintaining the purchasing power of the dollar."

The recovery in exports "has been a significant contributor to the recovery of the past couple of years," said Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital in New York. "The relatively weak dollar and strong growth abroad, especially in the emerging markets, does suggest that export growth should be strong in coming quarters."

Wolverine World Wide Inc., the Rockford, Michigan-based shoe company whose products include Hush Puppies, reported a "double-digit" revenue increase in "every major geographic region" in the second quarter, Blake Krueger, chief executive officer, said on a July 12 earnings conference call.

It's "a very good time to be diversified and to have our brands in more than 190 countries and markets around the world, as the pace of the economic recovery in most global markets has been faster than in Europe or the United States," Krueger said.

'Bright Spots'

Trade will give a "sizable boost" to GDP, economists at UBS Securities LLC said in a July 12 report raising their forecast for the contribution. UBS now predicts net exports will boost growth in the second quarter by 1.5 percentage points, up from an earlier assumption of a 0.4 percentage point gain.

Bernanke told the House Financial Services Committee in Washington last week that exports and business investment in equipment and software are "two bright spots in the recovery" from the worst recession since the Great Depression. He also said the central bank is prepared to take additional action if the expansion appears to be in danger of stalling.

Not all economists are impressed by the export figures. Macroeconomic Advisers LLC in St. Louis last week lowered its estimate for GDP growth in the second quarter by four-tenths of a percentage point on weaker-than-expected net exports. The consultants projected on July 15 that the economy grew 1.4 percent last quarter after expanding 1.9 percent in January- March.

'Wild Card'