I should probably say its all over the news and market chatter.
The Wall Street Journal had an article overnight I wrote about here: China’s yuan hit a four-month low Monday
More from the Journal:
- A sharp and sudden slide in China’s yuan is forcing investors to rethink one of the most reliable trades in financial markets over the past four years: betting on gains in the Chinese currency
- Edmund Harriss, at Guinness Atkinson Asset Management: “China’s central bank is reminding us all that the stronger currency is not a given in the short term”
- Analysts say China may be trying to shake out short-term speculators, part of a broader effort to reduce the amount of cash sloshing around the country’s economy. The move could also be a signal to investors that they should prepare for more volatility in the yuan’s exchange rate
Easy Currency Bet Gets Harder as the Chinese Yuan Tumbles
And from the the Financial Times (Fast FT):
- onshore renminbi has staged its biggest drop in over two years, leading analysts to guess that the central bank, which carefully manages the currency’s moves, is experimenting with introducing some volatility, as a precursor to allowing more flexibility.
- Other analysts have speculated the central bank engineered the drop to deter expectations of a further rise in the renminbi and stop speculators illicitly moving money into China
- China’s yuan tumbled by the most since December 2012 on speculation the central bank wants an end to the currency’s steady appreciation to ward off speculators before a possible widening of the trading band.
How long will it go on? It isn’t easy to figure out the PBOC and China’s government. So very difficult to tell. Thoughts welcome.
