CHINA/IMF/STEVE MNUCHIN/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The International Monetary Fund on Friday [8-9-19] provided little or no support for President Donald Trump’s assertion that China is manipulating its currency for an unfair trade advantage. In an annual review of China’s economic policies, the IMF said Beijing actually took steps last year to prop up the value of its currency after the renminbi declined against the dollar between mid-June and early August 2018. Overall, the currency ‘was broadly stable’ in the past year, depreciating by just 2.5 percent against a basket of foreign currencies used as a benchmark, the IMF said. IMF staff concluded the renminbi’s value in 2018 was ‘broadly in line with medium-term fundamentals and desirable policies, i.e. not significantly over- or undervalued,’ James Daniel, the IMF’s mission chief for China, told reporters on a call.”
–Doug Palmer, “New IMF report doesn’t back Trump’s currency manipulation charge against China,” Politico, August 9, 2019 5:14 pm