China’s Record Capital-Account Outflows Pile Pressure on Yuan

  • Yuan has slid almost 3% in past three months amid dollar gains
  • Management of capital account may become more stringent: BBVA

The yuan has tumbled about 2.8% over the past three months.

Photographer: Raul Ariano/Bloomberg
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As if the yuan wasn’t already under pressure from the weak Chinese economy, a surging dollar and the prospect of higher US tariffs, the currency faces an additional downdraft: a flood of money looking to invest overseas.

China’s capital account, which tracks flows of capital in and out of the country, saw a record outflow last year as investors looked for better returns abroad. As a result, payments made by banks on behalf of their clients for capital and financial transactions surpassed those for the current account, which mainly relates to trade, according to official data.