Economics

China's Yuan Tumbles as PBOC Weakens Fixing, Easing Bets Mount

Central bank shows little inclination to halt the decline
Rising bets on monetary easing adding to pressure on the yuan

Patrick Bennett, a strategist at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, talks about the yuan, the dollar and the yen.(Source: Bloomberg)

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Tian Chen and Emma Dai

July 19, 2018 at 1:35 AM UTC

Updated on

July 19, 2018 at 10:00 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

China’s yuan slumped to a one-year low as the central bank showed little sign of intervening to slow the currency’s descent and bets for monetary policy easing mounted.

The yuan dropped as much as 0.85 percent to 6.8032 per dollar in offshore trading, the lowest level since July 2017. The People’s Bank of China weakened its fixing beyond 6.7 on Thursday for the first time since the currency began tumbling in June. Signs of further monetary easing are also adding strains, with China Business News reporting policy makers have made efforts to encourage bank loans and investment in lower-rated corporate debt.