The Chinese yuan continued to gain strength against the US dollar as it collected slight gains on Tuesday session before the anticipated visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in the White House, and which further complicates the currency manipulation issue.
Getting Stronger
As investors made a cautious stance on yesterday’s trading, the Chines yuan added more than 80 basis points to finish at 6.89 versus the dollar, to keep its steady performance against the struggling US currency.
But this key gain registered by yuan could solidify the accusation of currency manipulation. US {resident Donald Trump has labeled China of keeping its currency low to pump up the country’s exports and the economy. He dubbed the most populated country as “grand champions” of devaluations after it weakened the Chines yuan to its record lows in the final quarter of 2016.
The yuan gave up more than 6% last year, its largest decline against the greenback in more than two decades, as pressure from the sluggish economy and stronger dollar weighed in.
But for the first three months of this year, the currency has been [performing well and was up 1.4% versus the dollar. The rally begun when Trump formally took over the White House for his presidency and continued for the next months as the US dollar lost its strength.
On Thursday, Trump and Xi are scheduled for a leaders’ summit that will consist of talks about the US and China’s trade policies. The Republican has already claimed that this meeting “will be a very difficult one.”