By Jan Strupczewski
BRUSSELS, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund and finance ministers from the 16 countries using the euro believe the single currency is overvalued, the ministers' chairman said on Tuesday.
The head of the IMF's European department, Marek Belka, presented a regular report on the euro zone economy to the currency area's finance ministers and European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet.
"We agreed with him when he said that the euro was overvalued and that some adjustment in that area would be desirable," the Eurogroup's chairman, Jean-Claude Juncker, told a news conference.
The euro was trading around 17-month highs against the dollar at $1.5088/89 on Tuesday as worries about Dubai's debt problems eased, while rising stock and commodity prices dimmed the greenback's safe-haven allure.
Juncker also said the euro was too strong against the Chinese yuan, which is pegged to the dollar, and that top euro zone representatives had conveyed that message to the Chinese authorities during a trip to Nanjing on Nov. 28-29.
"We said ... an appreciation of the renminbi against the euro was something that we thought was desirable," Juncker said.
He made clear that the euro zone was not pushing for an abrupt revaluation of the yuan, or renminbi. It wanted instead to see a steady appreciation of the Chinese currency, which would help resolve global trade and savings imbalances.
"We do not want to see any abrupt about-turn in Chinese monetary policy, but we would like to see a gradual and orderly appreciation of the yuan against the euro," Juncker said.
"We don't think it is right that an economy which is growing strongly .... we don't see it makes any sense for such a country's currency to be devalued compared to a currency like the euro where growth trends are far less rosy than what we have seen in China," he said.
"The global imbalances are not down to the euro, we thought that the appreciation of the renminbi was in the interest not only of us in Europe but also of the Chinese people," he said.
But China disagreed.
"Our Chinese friends do not see things in quite the same way, no surprises there but we did want to put forward our point of view," Juncker said. (Editing by Dale Hudson) ((jan.strupczewski@reuters.com; +32-2-287 6837; Reuters messaging: jan.strupczewski.reuters.com@reuters.net))