【英语财经】人民币中间价再次大幅下调 China's RMB fix cut 1.6% vs USD in modified regime

China's central bank cut the currency's reference rate by the second-biggest amount in two decades, as a new pricing regime takes market forces into account.

The reference rate for the renminbi was 6.3306 versus the US dollar this morning, 1.6 per cent weaker than the 6.2298 set by the People's Bank of China on Tuesday, writes Peter Wells.

On Tuesday, the central bank cut the reference rate for the Chinese currency by 1.9 per cent, the biggest devaluation since 1994 (and since the crawling peg system was introduced in July 2005). The move caused the US dollar to spike, prompting regional currencies to weaken against the greenback, and unsettled equity markets.

Painting yesterday's decision as a one-off move, the PBoC critically signalled in a statement a shift from its previous strategy of setting the reference rate wherever it liked and toward allowing the market to play a bigger role in setting the level:"Effective from 11 August 2015, the quotes of central parity that market makers report to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System daily before market opens should refer to the closing rate of the inter-bank foreign exchange market on the previous day, in conjunction with demand and supply condition in the foreign exchange market and exchange rate movement of the major currencies."

Today's 1.6 per cent drop still classifies, then, as the second-largest drop in the Chinese currency since the hard peg to the US dollar was dropped in mid-2005, behind yesterday's 1.9 per cent devaluation.

China hopes the renminbi will be added to the International Monetary Fund's special drawing rights, a global reserve asset comprising the dollar, euro, pound and yen. A final decision on whether the redback will be formally endorsed as a reserve currency is due later this year as part of the Fund's regular five-yearly review of its SDR basket.

The IMF recently hailed China's progress on financial reform but said the currency still lags behind rivals in terms of further opening of the capital account and greater exchange rate flexibility.

A move toward a more market-based exchange rate may help China win the IMF's approval.

今天，中国央行以20年来第二大单日调整幅度下调了人民币汇率中间价。中国央行新出台的人民币中间价形成机制将市场因素考虑了进来。

今天上午的人民币中间价是1美元兑6.3306元人民币，比中国央行周二设定的中间价1美元兑6.2298元人民币低了1.6%。

周二，中国央行将人民币中间价下调了1.9%，这是人民币自1994年以来的最大幅度贬值。此举导致美元汇率飙升，亚洲各国货币兑美元汇率走弱，各国股市一片混乱。

今日1.6%的跌幅，是自中国在2005年年中放弃人民币紧盯美元的汇率制度以来的第二大跌幅，仅次于昨日1.9%的贬值幅度。

译者/简易