From AFP:
At a time when the world’s top athletes strive to set records at the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese currency has unexpectedly put on hold its steady move towards new highs.
Over the past nine trading days, the yuan has declined against the US dollar six times, throwing into doubt the conventional wisdom that its strengthening was the inevitable result of China’s rise as an economic world power.
“The current noticeable weakening in the yuan has never happened before,” said Liu Dongliang, a Shenzhen-based foreign exchange analyst with China Merchants Bank.
“Previously, when the dollar rebounded, the yuan would either move sideways or appreciate more slowly,” he said.
As a result, the yuan has declined nearly 0.70 percent against the American currency from a closing peak of 6.8113 hit on July 16, ending at 6.8588 on Friday.
