Chinese Yuan Hits New 16-Month Low as Trump Tariffs Loom

The yuan is tightly controlled by the Chinese Communist Party via China’s central bank, and analysts predict the currency will continue to fall.

A Chinese bank employee counts 100-yuan notes and US dollar bills at a bank counter in Nantong in China's eastern Jiangsu province on Aug. 28, 2019. AFP via Getty Images

Chinese currency slipped to a new 16-month low on Jan. 10, despite the efforts of China’s central bank to ease investor worries over the threat of U.S. tariff hikes under the incoming Trump administration.

China’s yuan, or renminbi (RMB), initially rose slightly on Jan. 10 after the central bank, the People’s Bank of China, said it would suspend Treasury bond purchases, triggering a jump in bond yields. Hours later, the Chinese yuan’s exchange rate against the U.S. dollar fell to 7.3324, the weakest since September 2023, slipping from 7.3301 per U.S. dollar on Jan. 6, which was a 16-month low.