The Chinese yuan is strengthening against major currency rivals on Thursday, which may surprise investors because of what has been transpiring toward the end of the trading week. In addition to disappointing economic data, there were reports that the White House was considering an interim US-China trade agreement, something that was quickly disputed within hours.
Bloomberg News rocked markets on Thursday after it reported that administration officials had been discussing the possibility of extending a limited trade deal to China. The proposal would see a delay and rollbacks of many US tariffs in exchange for Chinaâs commitment on intellectual property and agricultural acquisitions.
Citing five people close to the situation, President Donald Trumpâs top trade advisers are deliberating plans ahead of two rounds of in-person talks next month in Washington. Bloomberg noted that the president had yet to agree to the move.
Within hours, a senior White House official denied the reports to CNBC.
President Trump did not comment directly on the reports, but he did issue a related tweet:
It is expected that China will be buying large amounts of our agricultural products!
According to the Ministry of Commerce, foreign direct investment climbed 3.2% year-on-year to $89.26 billion from January to August. The biggest investments originated from South Korea (45.3%) and were focused on high-tech services.
On Wednesday, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers confirmed that vehicle sales tumbled 6.9% to 1.96 million units in August, representing the 14th consecutive decline. The Peopleâs Bank of China (PBOC) reported that outstanding yuan loan growth rose 12.4%, down from the 2019 peak of 13.7% in March.
Earlier this week, the PBOC said that the August inflation rate surged 0.7%, up from 0.4% in July.
The USD/CNY currency pair dropped 0.52% to 7.0794, from an opening of 7.1168, at 18:06 GMT on Thursday. The EUR/CNY dipped 0.02% to 7.8345, from an opening of 7.8365.
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