U.S. should keep options open on China yuan: lawmaker

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States should keep "all options" open to pressure China on its currency, a top U.S. lawmaker said on Thursday after the Treasury Department declined to label China a currency manipulator.

"Since the Government of China modified its exchange rate policy last month, the RMB has appreciated only very modestly. This is a first step, but clearly, only that," House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander Levin said in a statement.

"We must monitor China's progress, but also, give serious consideration to all options in the event, as was the case in 2005-2008, that China fails to take the additional necessary steps representing steady and significant progress.

"Toward that end, Congress and the Administration should fully explore the option of challenging China's current practices through a WTO complaint," he said.

(Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Andrew Hay)