Geithner says U.S. savings increase is "durable"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday he believes that U.S. consumers are mending their free-spending ways to save more and China will learn to integrate its economy with the rest of the world.

"I think it's very hard to know what the new equilibrium will be for the U.S. economy, but I think ... these changes we've seen in private savings already are durable," Geithner told a news conference following the conclusion of bilateral talks with Chinese officials.

He said the U.S. savings rate would return to more historical levels and the spending binge of the last decade would prove "anomalous."

"We've learned some tough lessons here. The basic lesson of the importance of living within our means as a country and at the household level is an important and necessary lesson," Geithner said.

(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Kenneth Barry)