RSS feedrenminbi
’That Chinese rate rise [updated]
The market was a bit confused on Tuesday by the People’s Bank of China’s ‘surprise’ move to raise lending and deposit rates by 25bps this week. Here’s the announcement in Chinese:
Which roughly translates as ‘keep on not calling us a currency manipulator,
Irony alert: China cries fowl
Minyanville has picked up on the irony of the month, following Monday’s news that China, which was the largest importer of US chicken in 2009 ($752.2m), will impose new ‘anti-dumping’ duties on chicken parts and whole birds,
The renminbi’s release is speeding up
Now here’s a renminbi mystery.
Not only did the People’s Bank of China fix the USDCNY cross-rate lower for the eighth time running on Monday at 6.7110, versus Friday’s 6.7172 — the longest run of low fixes since October 2007.
China, Japan and the intervention two-step
At last, a chance for browbeaten Japanese finance ministers and bureaucrats to recover some mojo — and blame someone else for the yen’s seemingly irrepressible rise.
After yet another dismal round of promises by Japanese officials to act to curb the currency,
Yuan-ted: McDonald’s new bond
Two global titans — one of fast food and one of the world economy — have teamed up in the debt market. For, McDonalds has become the first foreign corporate to issue a renminbi-denominated bond.
The Thursday press release from offer manager Standard Chartered:
China’s currency is [censored]
There’s a missing word somewhere in the IMF’s latest Article IV consultation on Chinese economic policy. Can you spot it?
Hint — it’s renminbi-related:
Directors welcomed the recent decision to return to the managed floating exchange rate regime.
Chinese floating exchange rate? There’s an ETF for that
Call the global ETF industry what you want, but you can’t deny that they’re not quick to react to changing investor demands.
Not even a week since news broke that China would consider some flexibility in its exchange rate,
Renminbi reverberations
No doubt about the winner on the London stock market from China’s decision to let the renminbi to appreciate ever so modestly – miners, miners, miners and for good measure miners.
At pixel time the FTSE 100 leaderboard was dominated by resources stocks:
Renminbi variations
So China moves to flexibility in the renminbi, presenting a token diplomatic gesture before G20 talks, but ultimately not changing very much economically. Right?
Well, sort of. The situation is more complex than that.
Renminbi reservations
The knee-jerk reaction in currency markets after China’s big renminbi announcement:
But if most of the media agrees that China’s decision to enhance the yuan’s flexibility was a step in the right direction,
Renminbi ruminations
Some critics are doubtful about the significance of Beijing’s moves but the volumes devoted to China’s weekend statement on currency flexibility on Monday morning would suggest otherwise.
As the FT reports,
China overheating?
Here’s a pop-quiz for China-watchers on Friday:
Does this:
Chinese inflation exceeds 3% target
Chinese inflation has exceeded the 3 per cent target set by the government for the year, at a time when wage pressures in the economy are intensifying,
Martin Wolf v Stephen Roach on US-China relations
Who’s more opinionated? Tough call, when it’s Morgan Stanley’s Stephen Roach up against the FT’s Martin “Two Brains” Wolf on the small matter of US-China relations and the outlook for China’s currency policy.
A Chinese trade deficit? ‘Tis but a flesh wound
Waiting for China’s long-awaited, long-controversial decision on the renminbi’s value is getting to be like waiting for Godot.
Oh, well. Here’s an interesting $7.24bn-sized diversion to ponder while we wait: how to interpret the trade deficit China has now posted for March,
China shows some appreciation, soon. How soon?
Oh, can’t we have renminbi revaluation before the weekend, China? Please?
Reuters reports that forwards on the RMB deflated a bit on Friday. Seems traders found a Thursday NYT piece, which declared a rise “very close”
Is China blowing bubbles?
Yes, says Citigroup’s Willem Buiter, who thinks the Chinese authorities will fail in their efforts to prevent a classic boom, bubble and bust asset sequence.
Higher interest rates, renminbi appreciation and additional macro-prudential controls have all been mooted as way to prevent booms and bubbles developing in the Chinese land,
Cuckoo clocks and chopsticks at dawn
The Swiss franc reached a record against the euro on Tuesday — and that’s despite a recent pledge by the country’s central bank that it would help counter “excessive appreciation” in the currency.
What is a ‘basically stable’ renminbi?
The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.
- Confucius, The Analects, Chapter IV
China’s leaders have long been known for their pragmatically gnomic political sayings.
Asia is getting a little hot (money) under the collar
The warmth is spreading all over Asia-Pacific at the moment — and Taiwan’s central bank moved on Thursday to cool things down round its neck of the woods. The China Post has the details on some rather frisky fund flows:
Renminbi revaluation: it’s a world war out there
…To judge from the international institutions which were shoved into the fray over RMB appreciation on Wednesday, including the World Bank and UNCTAD. At least it means the debate is now getting to the broader problem — imbalances.
China as currency manipulator: reality check, please
Ah, Yuan revaluation worriers: name-calling won’t win the argument for you. But sage advice from a certain investment bank just might.
Monday brought the sound and fury of a letter from 130 U.S. Representatives to the Treasury demanding that it brand China as a ‘currency manipulator’.
Renminbi rumours
The Chinese-currency rumour mill is “churning overtime” traders noted on Friday, as forward renminbi contracts headed towards their biggest weekly gain in two months.
Citi traders said on Friday morning that much speculation about a weekend (upwards) revaluation of the reniminbi brought more heavy selling interest.
China: More revaluation rumbles
We recently reported on the various arguments in China currency-watching circles, at home and abroad, over the value of the renminbi. That was before we heard this week that China has now decided its dollar peg is “temporary”.
Releasing the renminbi for Asia
Nomura has an ambitious big-think analysis paper out on getting Asia’s strident recovery through the medium term, particularly via capital markets reform. Check the Long Room for the full report, by John Lllewellyn and Lavinia Santovetti.
Renminbi ructions: to revalue or not to revalue?
Recent developments in both China and the US have boosted speculation that the People’s Republic is preparing to let its currency appreciate. And judging by the tone emanating from western politicians and pundits,
The great Chinese FX reserve injection
Worried about Chinese banks? Pfiff.
Standard Chartered has some intriguing reasons why you don’t need to be – all revolving around the strength of the banks’ sovereign backer, the People’s Republic of China.
China: The heat is on
The latest Chinese economic data and the policy announcements emanating from Beijing make it very clear: inflation is back in China, as the FT notes, and almost every economic commentator worth their notes is venturing an opinion as to what the mandarins should do about it.
Chinese yuan appreciation pressure mounts
Chinese industrial output in October accelerated at its fastest rate in seven months, according to figures released on Wednesday.
Analysts are now cautioning that sort of rebound will only heighten pressure on China to appreciate its currency versus the US dollar as exports rebound and domestic focus once again is forced to turn to inflation.
‘The dollar is the most crowded long in history’
So stop calling the current vogue for betting against the greenback a “crowded short”, says boutique brokerage Aviate Global.
And their logic is hard to fault. As the world’s de facto currency the world is,