Market moves don't reflect strong economy: Paulson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Friday that recent financial market volatility does not necessarily reflect strong fundamentals in the U.S. economy, nor those of the developing Chinese economy.

In an interview with National Public Radio, Paulson said despite weakness in manufacturing and housing, the U.S. economy was strong, with low unemployment and strengthening exports.

Asked whether this week's stock market declines indicated more volatility and risks in the U.S. economy, Paulson said: "For at least as long as I have been looking at markets, there is volatility in markets.

"Markets at any one time don't necessarily reflect the economic fundamentals in markets -- certainly you don't move in a straight line one way or the other forever. So as long as you have markets, you're going to have volatility," Paulson said.

Paulson also said the U.S. was "really pressing" China to move forward with financial market reforms to enable markets to determine the valuation of the yuan currency.