By Anna Willard
GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Oct. 1 (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers will discuss the single currency's appreciation on Thursday to prepare a position ahead of the G7 in Istanbul, the European Commission's top economic official said.
G7 finance ministers and central bankers are due to meet in Istanbul over the weekend. Their regular meetings usually include a discussion on currency policy.
Joaquin Almunia told Reuters the Eurogroup would discuss putting in place exit strategies for when a recovery takes hold and the results of the G20 leaders summit in Pittsburgh last weekend.
Asked if he was concerned about the level of the euro, he said: "Well, recently the euro has appreciated and we will prepare also the position of the euro area (on this) vis a vis the next summit, the next meeting of the G7 in Istanbul."
The euro fell to the day's low of $1.4552
The G20 is set to take on more importance in the managing of the world economy raising questions about whether the G7, the traditional forum for exchange rate negotiation, is still a useful forum for discussion.
The G20 comprises the leading developed and developing economies. The G7 contains the leading developed economies and so does not include China, which some officials argue must be part of any global exchange rate discussion.
At the Pittsburgh G20 leaders agreed on the need to rebalance the world economy, which many officials say implies a discussion on exchange rates. However, the G20 made no official mention of currencies, meaning the focus has turned to Istanbul.
The G7 usually issues a communique at the end of its meeting which includes a line on currencies but it is not clear there will be a statement this time.
Austrian Finance Minister Josef Proell said there would be a a currency discussion at Thursday's Eurogroup meeting but there were no plans to send a signal to Istanbul.
"We will discuss this in passing, but we don't intend to deliver a signal from the Ecofin or the Eurogroup to Istanbul on this," he said.
Some European countries are pushing hard for a discussion on currencies. A French government official told Reuters last week that France was concerned about the level of the euro against other currencies and had hoped for a G20 discussion.
Economy Minister Christine Lagarde on Sunday also echoed comments from President Nicolas Sarkozy in August.
"It is out of the question that the euro pays the bill for an adjustment between the dollar and the yuan," she said. (Editing by Andy Bruce) (Reuters Messaging: anna.willard.reuters.com@reuters.net; =33 1 49 49 5339; anna.willard@reuters.com))