June 30 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. dollar’s share of currency reserves around the world rose in the first quarter to the highest level since 2007, the International Monetary Fund said in a statement today.

The share of dollars in global foreign-exchange reserves increased to 65 percent in the first three months of this year from 64.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, the IMF said. The euro’s share dropped to 25.9 percent from 26.5 percent, while the pound’s fell to 4 percent from 4.1 percent, the Washington-based lender said.

The report comes as officials from nations including China and Russia soften comments questioning the role of the dollar as a global reserve currency. China’s central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan on June 28 said China has a “very stable” foreign currency reserve policy that won’t be suddenly changed.

The IMF figures also showed that the yen’s share of global reserves fell to 2.9 percent from 3.2 percent. Today the Japanese currency fell against most of its major counterparts on speculation the global recession is abating, encouraging demand for higher-yielding assets.

To contact the reporter on this story: Timothy R. Homan in Washington at thoman1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 30, 2009 10:24 EDT