Yuan Falls to One-Week Low as U.S. Rate Bets Cut Asia's Appeal
- Central bank weakens currency's daily reference rate
- Fed's Yellen says December rate hike a `live possibility'
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China’s yuan dropped to a one-week low in both Hong Kong and onshore trading after comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen raised the odds for a December increase in U.S. interest rates.
A rate hike next month would be a "live possibility" if economic data continue to point to expansion, Yellen said Wednesday, a move that may reduce the appeal of Chinese assets. The Communist Party said in its five-year plan that it will overhaul foreign-exchange management, according to a report Tuesday from the Xinhua News Agency. While President Xi Jinping announced an annual growth target of at least 6.5 percent through 2020, that’s still lower than this year’s goal of 7 percent, the slowest in 25 years.