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Soros' comments to BBC radio on Friday, broadcast on Saturday, come as global finance chiefs at a meeting in Washington seek to prevent tensions over currency valuations from derailing a fragile economic recovery.

"One of the basic imbalances that was at the root of the financial crisis and which needs to be corrected is the chronic (trade) surplus in China and big deficit in the United States," Soros said, referring to the 2008 financial crash.

China has kept its yuan currency undervalued in a managed float to keep its exports competitive.

"Certainly a better alignment of those two currencies would help over time to correct that imbalance," he added.

At annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday, finance ministers and central bank governors repeated a call for export powerhouses, such as China, to spend more at home so indebted countries, like the U.S., can rebuild their finances without risking a still-fragile global recovery.

Officials worry that a weak U.S. dollar and relatively strong currencies elsewhere could push nations into a round of currency depreciations to help their exports.

Soros said China's currency should be allowed to appreciate, but a sudden jump of 20 percent or more would lead to reduced exports and unemployment in China, reducing consumption there.

"So you can't adjust the exchange rate too rapidly, but 10 percent a year should definitely be doable. That would mean that you take two years to get 20 percent."

China, which has rebuffed calls from the West to let its currency rise faster, allowed the yuan to firm on Friday to its highest level against the dollar since a revaluation in July 2005.

The IMF and World Bank meetings continue over the weekend.

(Writing by Mohammed Abbas: Editing by Toby Chopra)

Chairman and chief executive officer Klaus Kleinfeld, speaking on a conference call after reporting third quarter earnings late Thursday, said in answer to an analyst's question, "We are totally supportive. I have said that many, many times, totally supportive."

He added, however, challenges remain to actually bringing an aluminum ETF to market, but he was optimistic they would be resolved.

"The structure is one, physical metal premium is another one. And then, the question of what do you do with large redemptions that require large and major cash outflows? So, these things still need to get solved," he said.

Noting RUSAL, the world's biggest aluminum producer, has said recently it would likely supply aluminum as an underlying asset for an ETF [nTOE65S075], the analyst asked Kleinfeld whether Alcoa would do the same.

"Yes, we would definitely be willing to provide metal in here, and we have always said that. We were very supportive. Whether we provide metal or whether not, this is a good thing for the industry to happen," the CEO said, adding the willingness to issue an aluminum ETF was an indication of the light metal's attractiveness.

(Reporting by Carole Vaporean;editing by Sofina Mirza-Reid)

Noda added that he believed he had gained the understanding of his G7 counterparts regarding Japan's stance on currency market intervention during an informal dinner meeting.

"We did not discuss anything about the future, but I believe we've gained understanding on our basic stance," Noda told reporters after the meeting.

Tokyo intervened in the currency market for the first time in six years on September 15 as the yen's steady rise against the dollar threatened to derail Japan's export-reliant recovery from its worst recession in decades.

Investors remain on full alert for further intervention by Japan as an unexpected drop in U.S. payrolls data pushed the dollar to a fresh 15-year low against the yen on Friday.

Noda said his explanation of Japan's currency intervention did not draw any response from other G7 members, but added "various views" were exchanged on currency rate matters.

The G7 finance leaders agreed that currency moves should reflect economic fundamentals, and that emerging economies with current account surplus should move toward a more flexible currency system, Noda said.

When asked whether such emerging economies included China, Noda said: "It's included."

Currency tensions have risen to the top of the agenda for the IMF meetings as policy makers deal with a drive by many of the world's economies to cap the strength of their currencies.

The United States and the European Union accuse China of keeping its currency artificially weak to promote exports, undermining jobs and economic growth in the West.

Japan takes a more hands-off approach and has repeated that a more flexible yuan will benefit China's own economy by keeping inflation in check.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

Normally when the likes of JPMorgan or Intel --also reporting next week -- tell investors how much they earned in the previous quarter, the stock market hangs on every word.

But after Friday's surprisingly anemic payrolls report, the increased likelihood the Fed will buy more assets like Treasury bonds to stimulate the economy has investors ignoring the usual benchmarks.

"Markets have been oscillating between macro and micro data, and the upcoming week will focus on macro," said Brian Jacobsen, chief portfolio strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.

The fact that Wall Street closed Friday in the black despite the weak payrolls data is evidence the Fed's action is top of mind for investors at this time.

Action from the central bank has already been baked into the equities rally, with $500 billion as the most talked-about injection. And the risk of a decline in equities is off balance as both good and bad economic news could have a bullish effect on stocks.

"Good news is clearly good and the market goes up," said John Praveen, chief investment strategist at Prudential International Investments Advisers LLC in Newark, New Jersey.

"If earnings or economic news is bad, then we'll get" a second round of quantitative easing, he noted. "Therefore the market will still go up. In that sense, risk is asymmetric."

Economic data next week, including consumer and producer prices, retail sales and consumer sentiment could shed further light on whether the economy has slowed enough to require swift action from the Fed.

"If CPI shows core inflation is going to fall, further odds of aggressive QE --as opposed to a trickle -- will increase and that will be viewed positively by the market," said Praveen.

EARNINGS TAKE BACK SEAT

Intel Corp (INTC.O), JPMorgan Chase & CO (JPM.N), Google Inc (GOOG.O) and General Electric Co (GE.N) are among the largest companies that will post earnings next week. Intel warned in late August that its revenue could fall short and its shares got punished, so there's little space for a negative surprise.

And if Alcoa's report on Thursday was any indication, even bellwethers' numbers may have to vary enormously from expectations to be noted amid all the QE2 talk.

Alcoa Inc (AA.N) marked the unofficial start to earnings season, rising 5.7 percent to $12.89 a day after its results beat estimates. While the stock rose sharply, it was far from the market's focal point, which hinged on the expectation of the Fed's action.

And next week's Treasury auctions, especially of longer-term bonds, may also provide a boost to stocks.