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Here are some reasons why China’s currency is sinking

One U.S. dollar today is worth about 9.92 Chinese yuan. That’s down nearly 10 percent from where it was last spring. That drop has the attention of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who said Wednesday he wants to make sure China is not doing “competitive devaluations.” That’s when a country seeks an advantage by making its […]

An employee counts 100-yuan notes at a bank in Nantong in China's eastern Jiangsu province on July 23, 2018.
An employee counts 100-yuan notes at a bank in Nantong in China's eastern Jiangsu province on July 23, 2018.
AFP/Getty Images

One U.S. dollar today is worth about 9.92 Chinese yuan. That’s down nearly 10 percent from where it was last spring. That drop has the attention of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who said Wednesday he wants to make sure China is not doing “competitive devaluations.” That’s when a country seeks an advantage by making its currency, and therefore its goods, cheaper relative to other countries. But the cheap yuan might have more to do with what’s going on in the United States than it does with China.

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