HONG KONG: The head of the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday the US dollar will remain the de facto world currency despite predictions that the euro or Chinese yuan will soon overtake it.
“The US currency is going to remain the main currency in my opinion for a long period of time, even if it’s challenged by some others,” Dominique Strauss-Kahn said.
He added that China should move toward bumping up the value of its currency, Strauss-Kahn said, after critics accused Beijing of keeping its unit artificially low.
The IMF managing director also ruled out a so-called “double-dip” recession for the global economy, but said the pace of recovery has been sluggish.
“Our view is not one of a double-dip,” Strauss-Kahn said. “It doesn’t mean the probability is zero or that it cannot happen, but it’s not our preferred scenario and I don’t believe that will be the case.”
He made the comments in an interview with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council ahead of a keynote address at the Asian Financial Forum next week.
“The transition is a difficult one and it takes time,” he added.
“A higher value of the currency — especially for China and other countries which are related to the (yuan) — goes in the right direction.”
Asian countries will play a key role in helping the global economy get back on its feet, he said.
“The more you become a big player, and now you have in Asia a lot of big players, including China, the more you have [a] responsibility on the way the whole system is working.”
Meanwhile, a team of IMF experts on Wednesday launched a week-long mission to debt-stricken Greece to advise the government on how to overcome its financial crisis, the finance ministry said.
“The mission has arrived and will start the day by meeting Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou,” a ministry source told AFP.
“The team consists of five IMF officials who will spend a week here (Greece).” The visit came after a damning report from the European Union this week on Greece’s economic statistics raised fears that the crisis could worsen.
The IMF said earlier it had been invited by Greek authorities to “explore possibilities for technical assistance from the IMF in the coming months on pension reform, tax policy, tax administration, and budget management.”
“The mission is within the context of the regular surveillance that the IMF provides to its membership,” it said.
