U.S. Declines To Name China a Currency Manipulator

No major trading partner, including China, has manipulating its currency to gain an unfair trade advantage, the U.S. Treasury said Wednesday in its semi-annual report on exchange rates. Through September, China's currency depreciated by 1.4% against the dollar after strengthening by 2.9% in 2013. But Treasury cited a gradual appeciation of the yuan in July and August and "low apparent levels of intervention" as signs of "some renewed willingness by the [Chinese] authorities to allow a stronger domestic currency and to reduce intervention" in line with bilateral agreements. Treasury said the yuan remains "significantly undervalued." The report said the South Korean won should be allowed to appreciate further and called on Germany to take steps to increase domestic demand.