Prognosis

Covid Lockdown Costs Shanghai Its China Currency Trading Crown

  • City’s foreign-currency trades slumped 30% from March: SAFE
  • Lockdowns had profound impact on economic activities: NatWest
Empty highways during a lockdown due to Covid-19 in Shanghai, on May 2.Source: Bloomberg
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The fallout of China’s Covid Zero policy is starting to show in Shanghai’s financial markets, with the city losing its top currency trading hub title for the first time.

Shanghai handled fewer currency deals than Beijing in April, to rank second among China’s 36 provinces and municipalities, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. The decline points to another consequence of strict lockdowns and may serve as a case study for the possible implications of movement curbs in major Chinese cities, including Beijing, as Covid cases climb.