We examine the possibility that the experimentally observed enhancement of
superconducting (SC) fluctuations above the SC transition temperature in the
underdoped cuprates is caused by stripes -- an intrinsic electronic
inhomogeneity, common to hole-doped cuprates. By evaluating the strengths of
the diamagnetic response and the Nernst effect within the striped SC model, we
find results that are qualitatively consistent with the experimental
observations. We make a prediction for anisotropic thermopower in detwinned
samples that can be used to further test the proposed scenario.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures; final version published in Europhysics Letter
