M$Greedia missed this -IMF contradicts Trump: China hasn't manipulated its currency
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/imf-contradicts-trump-china-hasnt-manipulated-its-currency-2019-08-10
<snip>
The International Monetary Fund sees little evidence that Chinas central bank has deliberately reduced the value of the nations currency a position at odds with the Trump administrations decision this week to accuse Beijing of manipulating the yuan.
The IMF said Friday in its yearly review of Chinas economy that the yuan has been broadly stable against other currencies, suggesting theres been little intervention by the Peoples Bank of China. A weaker yuan would give Chinese exporters a competitive price advantage over foreign rivals.
The Treasury Department on Monday named China a currency manipulator for the first time since 1994. The move, reversing its decision in May to keep China off the blacklist, came after Beijings central bank let the yuan drop to its lowest point in 11 years.
Clearly, they are manipulating their currency, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told CNBC Friday.
Chinas central bank sets the exchange rate each morning and allows the yuan to fluctuate by 2% against the dollar during the day. The central bank can buy or sell currency or order commercial banks to do so to keep the yuans price from swinging too widely.
In letting the yuan slide, the central bank was responding to economic reality. Chinas economy is slowing partly because President Donald Trump has slapped tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports and market pressures are pulling the currency down.