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The U.S. trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly in November as exports climbed to the highest level in more than two years, government data showed on Thursday.
The trade gap dipped to $38.3 billion from $38.4 billion in October, the Commerce Department reported. Analysts surveyed before the report had expected the November trade deficit to widen slightly to $40.5 billion from October’s originally reported $38.7 billion. Get the full story »
China’s yuan currency remains “substantially undervalued” and it is in Beijing’s own interest to let it appreciate more rapidly to ward off inflation risks, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday. Get the full story »
U.S. construction equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. plans to issue a 1 billion yuan, or $150 million, two-year bond issue in Hong Kong, people familiar with the situation said Wednesday, becoming the second non-financial multinational company to tap the city’s growing yuan-denominated bond market. Get the full story »
The global economic recovery is losing steam in the face of a slowing U.S. rebound and tensions over currencies, and a debt crisis in Europe could trigger more weakness next year, the OECD said on Thursday. Get the full story »
China should let the yuan rise further to help its transition toward a consumption-based economy, although there is no clear evidence the currency is undervalued, a senior executive at Goldman Sachs said on Monday.
Higher inflation in China had contributed to rises in the yuan’s real exchange rate, said Jim O’Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs asset management. Get the full story »
The United States struggled on Friday to win backing for its proposal of setting numerical targets for external imbalances as a way of pressing surplus countries such as China to let their exchange rates rise.
In a letter to fellow finance ministers of the Group of 20 leading economies, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said countries should implement policies to reduce their current account imbalances below a specified share of national output. Get the full story »
The Obama administration faces a tough call Friday whether to label China a currency manipulator, a move long demanded by many U.S. lawmakers but also a potentially big wrench in an important relationship. Get the full story »
China needs to take steps on foreign exchange reform and the Obama administration is monitoring Beijing’s progress on this issue, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Thursday.
“You have heard the secretary of treasury and the president and others in the administration discuss the need for China to take steps as it relates to its currency,” he told reporters. Get the full story »
The House was set to pass legislation Wednesday to put pressure on China to let its currency rise faster, fanning the flames of a long-running dispute over trade and jobs.
The bill, expected to get heavy support from Democrats but a mixed reaction from Republicans, treats China’s exchange rate as a subsidy. That would open the door to extra duties on Chinese goods entering the United States, some of which are already subject to special levies. Get the full story »
The Senate is unlikely to vote on legislation to pressure China to raise the value of its currency until after the November 2 congressional elections, a Democratic senator said on Tuesday. Get the full story »
President Barack Obama said in a meeting Thursday with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that China needed to do more to resolve a dispute over the value of the Chinese currency, a senior U.S. official said.
Obama told Wen in their talks on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly that the currency was the “most important issue” of their meeting, the official said.
Oak Brook-based McDonald’s Corp., the world’s largest restaurant chain, sold $29 million in yuan-denominated notes, becoming the first foreign non-financial company to sell yuan-denominated bonds in Hong Kong.
The largest U.S. labor group urged Congress on Friday to pass legislation to fight China’s currency practices, a day after the Obama administration again declined to label Beijing a currency manipulator.
The United States should also keep other options on the table, including a possible challenge of China’s currency practices at the World Trade Organization, Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO labor federation, said in a statement. Get the full story »
China’s move to end its currency’s peg to the dollar initially fanned enthusiasm for crude, since a stronger yuan will make dollar-based commodities such as oil cheaper in China and bolster demand, but oil prices gave up earlier gains Monday afternoon as uncertainty set in about how quickly China may implement currency changes trimmed oil prices.
Crude gained 64 cents, to settle at $77.82 a barrel, on the New York Mercantile Exchange after rising as high as $78.92.
Retail prices for gasoline in the United States have climbed over the last week and are headed back toward a national average of $2.80 to $2.90 per gallon with higher prices on the West Coast, said Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service. Get the full story »
China’s yuan surged on Monday the most since its revaluation in 2005, sending a clear signal ahead of this weekend’s G20 summit that Beijing is sticking to its word of allowing greater currency flexibility.
The central bank has maintained the peg since the middle of 2008, a controversial policy aimed at steadying the world’s fastest-growing major economy during the global economic downturn. But the central bank stepped aside on Monday to back up its surprise weekend announcement that it would allow greater flexibility for the yuan, buying some time against Western critics who argue the currency is undervalued and gives China an unfair advantage in world trade. Get the full story »
