IMF chief does not see double-dip U.S. recession

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund's managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, said on Friday the pace of the recovery in the U.S. economy remains sluggish but he does not believe there will be a double-dip recession.

He also said China's economic stimulus is helping to rebalance its economy towards relying more on domestic demand but it still needs to let its currency rise over time.

In October, the IMF raised its U.S. growth outlook to 1.5 percent in 2010 but Strauss-Kahn said that forecast could be on the pessimistic side.

"Our forecast has that, not only in the United States but also for the rest of the world, 2010 will be a year of recovery," Strauss-Kahn told a news conference in Singapore where he was attending an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting.

"I must say, in some respects, we had been a little pessimistic because growth has resumed a little earlier than expected, by one quarter or so."

He said the dollar had remained resilient throughout the global crisis but most Asian currencies were undervalued and reiterated calls for the Chinese yuan to be revalued.

"China's economy in the coming years will be focused on domestic growth and the value of renminbi will have to be increased," he said.

(Reporting by Kazunori Takada and Kevin Yao; Editing by Bill Tarrant)

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