UBS to Citigroup Say Yuan May Weaken After Surprise Export Drop

China may allow the yuan to weaken in the second half to aid exports after June shipments contracted by the most since the global financial crisis, according to economists from UBS AG to Citigroup Inc.

The currency should be allowed to depreciate “at least marginally,” Wang Tao, Chief China Economist at UBS in Hong Kong, wrote in an e-mailed interview. Ding Shuang, Citigroup’s senior China economist, expects “periodic depreciation,” while Credit Suisse Group AG’s Tao Dong said he anticipates a “minor” decline against the dollar.