Economic slowdown, US QE tapering frustrate strong yuan

BEIJING - The value of the Chinese currency Renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 30 basis points to 6.1176 against the US dollar on Friday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System.

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It marked the fourth straight day the central parity rate of the yuan has fallen against the greenback.

Friday's exchange rate also marked a lowest reading against the dollar since the beginning of the year, even though the yuan surged to a historical high of 6.093 against the US currency on Jan 14.

Analysts said the recent decline of the yuan concurred with big banks' buying of foreign exchanges amid concerns of an economic slowdown, as investors, who used to be overly optimistic on the yuan's appreciation, are starting to restructure strategies.

Chinese economic growth eased to 7.7 percent in 2013 compared to 7.8 percent in 2012. A report released by Xiamen University on Thursday forecast growth will further slow to 7.62 percent in 2014.

Leading economic indicators such as the purchasing managers' index for the manufacturing sector, dropped to a six-month low of 50.5 percent in January, marking a bumpy start for the Chinese economy in 2014.

Lian Ping, chief economist at the Bank of Communications, said that China's foreign trade looks to turn more balanced, which will put less pressure on the yuan's appreciation. Meanwhile, the United States' tapering of its quantitative easing also does not support the continuous and sharp gains of the yuan.

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