China Policy Watch-PBOC signal is an amber light
July 12 (Reuters) - It is increasingly clearthat China must loosen monetary policy soon, as the economy stalls. Conditions for easing are materialising as odds of a U.S. rate cut rise, but a signal from China's central bank could curb some enthusiasm.
Friday's USD/CNY fixingwas surprisingly close to the previous day's, virtually ignoring the overnight USD slump due to softerU.S. CPI and dovish language from the Federal Reserve.
The damping used by the People's Bank of China to absorb excessive FX volatility was trimmed substantially to around -1200 pips versus neutral forecastsfrom approximately -1400 pips recently. The tweak softened the USD/CNY benchmark by just 0.03%,contrasting sharply witha 0.6% decline in the dollar index =USD.
It seems logical the PBOC would allow the yuan to strengthen much more in advance of an interest rate cut that would weakenit. The one-year medium-term lending facility rate will likely be unchanged again on Monday even asChina's Q2 GDP, June retail sales and industrial output data, also due Monday, are expected to show growth slowing.
Friday's forecast-beating rise in June exports may be brushed off due to tariff-related front-loading, while theunexpected drop in imports highlights persistent demand issues.
With theThird Plenum set to kick off on Monday, China policy watchers should keep a keen eye on the USD/CNY fix for a green light; for now, it still looks amber.
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CNYfix: https://tmsnrt.rs/3LiGGeD
Ewen Chew is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own. Editing by Sonali Desai
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