France's Lagarde says Europe's economy holding up

CHICAGO, May 23 (Reuters) - French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said on Friday that the European economy, in general, has been more resilient than expected in the face of the global credit crunch and U.S. slowdown.

Solid growth has been seen recently in Germany and France, Europe's two largest economies, Lagarde told reporters after a speech to the Executives' Club of Chicago.

"It's good to have two powerful engines to drive the process," she said.

Lagarde, who earlier said she wished the U.S. dollar were stronger, said global currency markets were beset by "imbalances," and that she was worried about currency volatility and the misalignment of currency levels.

Central banks have done a "very good job" of managing liquidity in a coordinated fashion during months of turmoil in credit markets, Lagarde added.

(Reporting by Ros Krasny, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)