France urges IMF to push US on forex imbalances

Paris: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) should ask the US to fix imbalances that are keeping the dollar weak against other currencies, French secretary of state for Europe Jean-Pierre Jouyet said yesterday.

Asked whether the IMF should ask the US to be more understanding with trade partners concerning foreign exchange imbalances, Jouyet said the IMF should press for action.

"I think they should ask the US to correct their imbalances. That seems quite legitimate to me," he said.

The comments reflect longstanding French concerns that Europe is being penalised by the weakness in other currencies such as the dollar, yen and yuan.

Jouyet said the main foreign exchange issue for Europe was not the strong euro but weakness in other currencies. "The real problem is that there are other currencies which are undervalued," he said.