China Adjusts Forex Rules

As the Chinese Yuan has appreciated over the last three years, and even in the decade leading up to the sudden revaluation, a tremendous amount of speculative "hot money" poured into China. Periodically, the government and Central bank have attempted to stem some of these inflows by creating deliberately unfavorable conditions for foreigners to invest in China. Witness the unnaturally low interest rates and the
one-way convertibility of the Chinese Yuan. Now, with inflation running at a 10-year high, the government is becoming more serious in its efforts to clamp down on some of the factors that are driving demand. As a result, it altered its system for governing forex and will increase its oversight over the entities and businesses that import capital into China. If executed properly, much of the upward pressure on prices, and the RMB itself, could be relieved. Reuters reports:

NEW RULES: China operates "a managed float exchange rate system based on supply and demand".
OLD RULES: China has "a single exchange rate system" with the central bank announcing the yuan’s value against major currencies on a daily basis.

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