China May Scrap Yuan Peg Next Week, Standard Chartered Says
China could scrap the yuan’s peg to the dollar next week, moving before economic talks with the U.S. this month and after the fanfare of the World Expo opening in Shanghai, Standard Chartered Bank said.
The timing is “a best guess,” Shanghai-based economist Stephen Green said in a phone interview yesterday. “Next week strikes us as a good opportunity.” China has pegged the yuan at about 6.83 per dollar since July 2008, fueling tension with the U.S., where lawmakers accuse the nation of securing an unfair advantage in trade.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner stoked speculation that a policy shift is imminent by last month delaying a report that could brand the nation a currency manipulator.
China’s leaders may act before the next talks in the so- called Strategic and Economic Dialogue with the U.S. start in Beijing on May 24, to avoid “another round of tension,” Green said. Officials may have delayed any move to avoid drawing attention away from the world exhibition, opened by President Hu Jintao on April 30, he added.
AP
May 24-25 ~ Geithner, Clinton to visit Beijing end of May ...
