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发帖数: 4825 | 1 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-11/china-s-yuan-strengthe
The yuan strengthened beyond 6.4 per dollar for the first time in 17 years,
supported by the Federal Reserve’s pledge to keep interest rates at a
record low and signs China will use currency gains to help rein in inflation.
The currency rose the most since November and 12-month non- deliverable
forwards climbed to a three-month high after the central bank’s daily
fixing had its biggest jump of 2011. Customs bureau data released yesterday
showed record exports helped drive the trade surplus to a two-year high in
July, while the Fed a day earlier pledged to maintain near-zero interest
rates through mid-2013. China’s consumer prices climbed 6.5 percent last
month from a year earlier, the fastest pace in three years, official data
show.
“The inflation and trade data, together with the Fed’s policy to maintain
extremely low interest rates, have fueled faster appreciation,” said Banny
Lam, an economist at CCB International Securities in Hong Kong. “Strong
economic growth, supported by the latest export figures, also provides
investors with confidence to buy the yuan in these turbulent times.”
The yuan rose 0.33 percent to 6.3970 per dollar as of 10:14 a.m. in Shanghai
, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. The currency touched
6.3938 earlier, the strongest level since the country unified official and
market exchange rates at the end of 1993. The central bank set its reference
rate 0.27 percent stronger at 6.3991, the biggest increase since November.
The yuan is allowed to trade up to 0.5 percent on either side of the
official rate.
U.S. Criticism
Overseas sales rose 20 percent from a year earlier to $175.1 billion in July
, exceeding imports by $31.5 billion, the customs bureau reported yesterday.
U.S. officials including Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and New
York Senator Charles Schumer say China keeps the yuan undervalued to gain an
unfair trade advantage.
China’s gross domestic product rose 9.5 percent from a year earlier in the
second quarter, while the U.S. recorded a 1.6 percent gain for the period,
official figures show. China’s economy will expand 9.6 percent in 2011 and
U.S. growth will be 2.5 percent, the International Monetary Fund forecast in
June.
In Hong Kong’s offshore market, the yuan gained 0.32 percent to 6.3915 per
dollar. Twelve-month non-deliverable forwards rose 0.70 percent to 6.3103, a
1.4 percent premium to the onshore exchange rate, based on data compiled by
Bloomberg.
Treasury Holdings
China may adjust its foreign-exchange policy to place less emphasis on the
yuan’s value versus the dollar, the Economic Information Daily reported
today, citing Pan Zhengyan, a researcher with the Shanghai Academy of Social
Sciences.
The People’s Bank of China buys dollars to limit currency gains as capital
flows into the country, a policy that’s made it the biggest foreign holder
of Treasuries. Faster appreciation may stem purchases of U.S. government
debt as the Fed’s loose monetary policy weighs on the dollar, which fell
against 14 of 16 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg this year.
Policy makers should urgently assess the risks from being the main investor
in U.S. debt and accelerate diversification of the nation’s foreign-
exchange reserves, the Financial News reported today, citing Xia Bin, a
central bank adviser.
In the short term, China can reduce risk by adjusting the asset structure of
its reserves, the central bank publication cited Xia as saying. In the
medium- and long-term, the key is to keep foreign-exchange holdings at a “
reasonable” level, the newspaper cited Xia as saying. Xia is an academic
member of the monetary policy committee of the People’s Bank of China.
China’s $3.2 trillion of reserves are the world’s largest and compare with
a combined $1.1 trillion for Brazil, India and Russia.
To contact the reporter on this story: Fion Li at f***[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Regan at jregan19@
bloomberg.net |
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