MOSCOW (Reuters), Oct 14 - Russia is concerned by the increased volatility of reserve currencies and some countries' attempts to weaken their exchange rates, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said on Thursday.
A "sign of instability in the global financial system is the increased volatility of reserve currencies," Kudrin said at a meeting with European Union officials.
"Of extra concern are the attempts by some countries to make decisions about controlling exchange rates with the aim of levelling out their balance of payments and stimulating economic growth."
While the United States in particular keeps pushing China to let its yuan currency strengthen further, other major emerging powers have been protesting that U.S. policies are driving too much short-term money into their markets in a potentially destabilising search by investors for higher returns. In addition, Japan's intervention to weaken the yen has stoked tension. [ID:nLDE69308R]
Kudrin's comments follow a call from Russian central bank first deputy chairman Alexei Ulyukayev on Wednesday for peace in what has been dubbed a currency war. [ID:nLDE68Q194]
Kudrin added that he did not think that currency regulation alone could be blamed for global imbalances.
"Most likely, the main reason is the different level of competitiveness and varied specialisation of countries in ... economic sectors. Thus trade imbalances are mostly structural in nature," he said.
"The other reason ... is the stimulating monetary policy of some developed countries, above all the United States, which are trying to solve their structural problems in this way."
He added that the resulting influx of liquidity created problems for emerging markets "by stimulating significant capital inflows."
(Reporting and writing by Toni Vorobyova; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)