NEW YORK (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund is close to declaring China's yuan fairly valued for first time in more than a decade, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

Such a move by the IMF wold be a milestone in China's efforts to open its economy and blunt U.S. criticism of Beijing's currency policy, said the newspaper.

The IMF's reassessment of the yuan is set to be made official in its reports on China's economy due in the coming months, the Wall Street Journal reported.

It follows years of IMF censure of Beijing's management of the currency and could undercut US congressional efforts to inject yuan concerns into pending trade legislation, said the paper.