China’s central bank said on Thursday there was no reason for the yuan to fall further given the country’s strong economic fundamentals, helping to restore calm to jittery global markets after it devalued the currency earlier in the week.
As the yuan slid for a third straight day, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said the strong economic environment, sustained trade surplus, sound fiscal position and deep foreign exchange reserves provided “strong support” for the exchange rate CNY=CFXS.
China’s decision to devalue the currency on Tuesday by pushing its official guidance rate down 2 percent sparked fears of a “currency war” and roiled global financial markets, dragging other Asian currencies to multi-year lows.
It also drew accusations from U.S. politicians that Beijing was unfairly supporting its exporters.
The PBOC said at the time that the move was a one-off depreciation, but sources involved in the Chinese policy-making process told Reuters that some powerful voices within government were pushing for the yuan to go still lower, suggesting pressure for an overall devaluation of almost 10 percent.
PBOC Vice-governor Yi Gang said it was nonsense to believe that government expected the yuan to fall that far.
