Treasury's Lew: Important China Allows Markets To Push Yuan Up As Well As Down

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew told his Chinese counterpart on Friday that it was important that China allow market pressures to drive the yuan up as well as down, a Treasury spokesperson said Friday. Lew met with Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei on the sidelines of the G-20 ministers meeting in Ankara, the official said. Last month, China changed its foreign exchange regime to allow more market influence in the setting of its daily exchange rate. The move pushed the yuan lower by more than 2%. Many analysts agreed that the key test for China would be to see if it allowed the market to push the currency higher as it would hurt the export sector.