The spring meetings of the World Bank and IMF will be held virtually this week amid a profound economic crisis spurred by a novel coronavirus. Unlike previous such viruses, this went global in such a destructive way that many countries have responded the same way. Encouraging social distancing, closing non-essential businesses, and enforcing lockdowns. The …
The inclusion of the Chinese yuan in the SDR basket at the start of Q4 16 did not appear to prompt central banks to include it in their reserves. The latest IMF COFER report showed that as of the end of 2016, the dollar value of the yuan in held in reserves was $84.5 bln, which is in …
Inclusion in SDR Does Not Spur Official Demand for the Yuan Read More »
The IMF provides the most authoritative data on central bank reserves. The composition is published at the end of the quarter for the preceding quarter. At the end of last week, its COFER report was published with data through the end of June 2016. This Great Graphic from the IMF provides 2.5 years of the …
IMF’s Reserve Data: Dollar Share Little Changed, Yen Share Jumps, Helped By Valuation Read More »
How much growth has foreign exchange experienced from the last report in April 2013? Overall trading in foreign exchange has fallen from a year to year basis. Markets in April 2016 saw turnover fall to $5.1 trillion from $5.4 trillion due primarily to less movement in the JPY in the current market environment. What is …
FAQ: BIS Triennial Foreign Exchange Turnover Survey Read More »
The World Bank sold the equivalent of about $700 mln of a three-year of a multiple currency bond that duplicated the composition of the IMF’s Special Drawing Right or SDR. There has been much fanfare. It is the first SDR bond in more than 30 years according to reports. The bond was issued in mainland …
(I write a monthly column for a Chinese paper. Here is a draft of it) It is as if Hamlet, the confused prince of Denmark, has taken up residence in Beijing. The famed-prince wrestled with “seeming” and “being”. So are Chinese officials. They seem to be relaxing their control over financial markets but are they …
This is the period in the monthly cycle that China releases most of its high frequency data. The process is well under way. Over the weekend, China reported its reserve figures that suggested capital outflows have slowed. Earlier today China reported its largest trade surplus (in dollars and yuan) since January. With the help of …