Canadian economy improving, currency a risk: IMF

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Canada's economic outlook is improving although there are risks on the horizon and support must be kept in place until recovery is firmly established, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday.

IMF Mission chief to Canada Charles Kramer said in a statement after talks with the authorities that Canada's economy was relatively well positioned to resume expansion.

"Nevertheless, it will be essential to maintain a highly accommodative macroeconomic policy stance as intended until the economic recovery is firmly established, in light of risks on the horizon," Kramer said.

"These risks include weaker-than-expected global growth and a further strengthening of the Canadian dollar."

He said improvements in the Canadian economy were largely due to a global recovery and the impact of fiscal stimulus measures and monetary policy easing during the crisis.

Kramer said the authorities need to properly communicate their strategy for unwinding the stimulus measures to instill confidence that the withdrawal will be smooth.

(Reporting by Emily Kaiser and Lesley Wroughton; Editing by James Dalgleish)