Trade data supports Yuan appreciation

That the balance of trade between the US and China is becoming more and more lopsided in favor of China should come as no surprise to anyone. In fact, economists yawned when the August trade data revealed a 33% jump in the Chinese trade surplus. As a result, many are beginning to argue that China can allow the Yuan to appreciate at a faster pace against the Dollar, since it is obvious that China’s export sector will not be materially affected by a stronger Yuan. In addition, China now exports more goods and services to the EU than to America, yet another statistic which supports the notion that China can allow its currency to appreciate against the Dollar (the implication here being that the Euro-Yuan exchange rate should be more important to China at this point). Finally, China’s inflation rate is now hovering around 6.5%, its highest level in over a decade. A more valuable Yuan would presumably make imports less expensive, thus lowering prices across the board for Chinese consumers. Bloomberg News reports:

The Chinese currency is selling for about 7.51 to the dollar. It has risen almost 6 percent against the U.S. currency in the past year while falling more than 3 percent against the euro, leaving the overall competitiveness of China's exports little changed.