China pushes yuan down further, fuels fears of currency war

Reuters: China’s yuan hit a four-year low on Wednesday, falling for a second day after authorities devalued it in a move that sparked fears of a global currency war and accusations that Beijing was giving an unfair advantage to its struggling exporters.

Spot yuan in China fell to 6.44 per dollar, its weakest since August 2011, after the central bank set its daily midpoint reference at 6.3306, even weaker than Tuesday’s devaluation.

The currency fared worse in international trade, touching 6.57.

The central bank, which had described the devaluation as a one-off step to make the yuan CNY=CFXS more responsive to market forces, sought to reassure financial markets on Wednesday that it was not embarking on a steady depreciation.

“Looking at the international and domestic economic situation, currently there is no basis for a sustained depreciation trend for the yuan,” the People’s Bank of China said in a statement.

The yuan has now lost 3.5% in China in the last two days, and around 4.8% in global markets.