Yen Gives Back Gains As China Shuns US Demand For 10 Percent Revaluation

In a near immediate response, China has rejected the Treasury’s proposal saying that, “they will not do this when internal conditions are not ripe, no matter how great the external pressure is.”  China did however take measures on Sunday to ease some of the upward pressure on their currency.  The State Administration of Foreign Exchange announced a new plan to allow Chinese corporations to invest up to $5 billion a year outside of China, which is a $1.7 billion increase from the previous year.  They are hoping that money exiting the country for foreign investment purposes would help to offset some of the massive speculative inflow that is flooding the country for revaluation plays.  Even as China tries to push back calls for revaluation, they are examining various options for a more flexible currency regime.  According to the Wall Street Journal, “the People's Bank of China has sought advice from private-sector banks, consultants and a number of central banks, including the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the U.S. Federal Reserve, as well as from the International Monetary Fund.”  China appears to be particularly interested in Singapore’s managed float regime, which pegs the Singaporean dollar to a basket of currencies.  Singapore has kept the weightings of the basket a secret, which has worked well for both the country and its currency.