White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said Thursday the strong dollar is a "sign of confidence" in the United States.
"There's a lot of unrest around the world. Money is flowing into the U.S.A. That's terrific," the director of the National Economic Council told CNBC's "Squawk Box." He added he "just wants a steady" dollar and isn't trying to "pilot" the U.S. currency.
"By the way, a strong dollar holds down commodity prices, gasoline prices are slipping, oil prices are slipping," Kudlow said. "In macroeconomic terms, it's sending a positive story of global confidence in the U.S.A."
The U.S. dollar was lower Thursday after news that a Chinese delegation will travel to the United States later this month for trade talks. The last round of talks was in early June when Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross met Chinese Vice Premier Liu He in Beijing.
Kudlow confirmed Thursday that the U.S. and China will resume trade talks, but warned that President Donald Trump has a strong resolve to make sure the administration gets a good deal.
Trump commented on the dollar in a tweet Thursday.
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Markets had been anticipating Trump's comment on the currency. The dollar index was flattish Wednesday but trading near its highest level in more than year. Meanwhile, the Chinese yuan was weakening. Trump has taken issue with the weakening yuan and has said he doesn't like a strong dollar.
Last month, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC on Thursday that he was "closely monitoring" the weakening in the Chinese currency.
Trump in March picked Kudlow to succeed Gary Cohn as director of his National Economic Council. Cohn, former No. 2 executive at Goldman Sachs, resigned from the White House role shortly after losing his fight to persuade the president not to impose import tariffs on steel and aluminum.
—CNBC's Patti Domm and Reuters contributed to this report.
