Yuan Closes at Four-Year Low in `Stress Test' Before Fed Liftoff
- PBOC cuts yuan's reference rate to weakest since August
- Decline comes after exports, foreign-exchange reserves drop
This article is for subscribers only.
China’s yuan closed at the weakest level in four years after the central bank cut its reference rate and both exports and foreign-exchange reserves dropped more than estimated.
Overseas shipments fell for a fifth month in November and imports extended a record run of declines, according to official data on Tuesday, after figures Monday showed the nation’s foreign-currency stockpile shrank to $3.44 trillion as the central bank sold dollars to prop up the yuan. The authority is looking to allow a gradual drop before the Federal Reserve increases interest rates, said Wang Ju, a Hong Kong-based currency strategist at HSBC Holdings Plc.