Yuan appreciation may continue

By Xin Zhiming ( chinadaily.com.cn ) Updated: 2014-02-26 16:41:23

A record year for foreign renminbi exchange

Thanks to the continual appreciation, international capital could have been flowing into China. The central bank and commercial banks purchased 1.1 trillion yuan ($180 billion) worth of foreign exchange in the fourth quarter of 2013, compared with only 129.2 billion yuan in the third quarter. In January, the country's foreign exchange purchase accelerated to 447.5 billion yuan, a sign of possible capital inflows.

It is reasonable to predict that the fluctuation of the yuan's exchange rate against the dollar will continue to widen in the coming weeks to thwart speculative capital inflows cashing in on yuan appreciation.

However, the process of appreciation may continue as the country pushes its drive of yuan internationalization. The relatively higher interest rate level, meanwhile, could continue to attract international capital.

The US tapering of its quantitative easing program since December has driven capital away from the emerging-market economies, but China, at least by now, has remain largely unscathed, which is a proof that the country remains attractive for international capital.

Such attractiveness may gradually wane as the tampering of QE continues and the momentum of yuan appreciation weakens. But for now, the yuan may possibly continue to trend up.

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