April 18th Macroeconomic Index: RMB Depreciates Below 7.1, China-US Economic Working Group Meets, and Global Currency Movements

Latest Global Major Index

International Crude Price Trend and Exchange Rate of RMB to USD Trend

Domestic News

1. Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: Support Zhongguancun to cultivate and expand a new generation of information technology and other trillion-level industrial clusters

2. The central parity of RMB has been adjusted and depreciated below the 7.1 mark, and the domestic economy will continue to rebound and will still bring support

3. At the fourth meeting of the China-US Economic Working Group, China expressed concern about the US economic and trade restrictions against China

4. Ministry of Commerce: Conduct a final review investigation on the anti-dumping measures applicable to imported electrolytic capacitor paper originating in Japan

International News

1. Iranian President: If Israel launches an attack on Iran, Iran will respond harshly

2. UK inflation is stronger than expected, and the pound continues to rise against the US dollar

3. Kyodo News Agency: The Tokyo lobby wants Japan to consider coordinating with other countries to intervene in the yen

4. The Philippine peso fell below the 57 mark, intensifying the pressure on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to intervene

Domestic News

1. Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: Support Zhongguancun to cultivate and expand a new generation of information technology and other trillion-level industrial clusters

The State Council Information Office held a press conference today to introduce the 2024 Zhongguancun Forum. Chen Kelong, Director of the Planning Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said at the meeting that he would work with the Ministry of Science and Technology and other relevant departments to support Zhongguancun in developing high technology, realizing industrialization, and accelerating the formation of new quality productive forces, and accelerating the construction of a world-leading science and technology park. Support Zhongguancun to cultivate and expand trillion-level industrial clusters such as a new generation of information technology, 100-billion-level industrial clusters such as medicine and health, and forward-looking layout of artificial intelligence, quantum information and other industries. Deepen the construction of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei National High-tech Zone Alliance, and give full play to the synergistic and leading role of Zhongguancun.

2. The central parity of RMB has been adjusted and depreciated below the 7.1 mark, and the domestic economy will continue to rebound and will still bring support

On April 16, data released by the China Foreign Exchange Trade System showed that the central parity of the RMB exchange rate against the US dollar was reported at 7.1028 on the same day, which was the second time since March 22 that the central parity of the RMB exchange rate against the US dollar was below the 7.1 mark. Feng Lin, Director of the research and development department of Oriental Jincheng, said that the recent market expectation that the Federal Reserve may delay the interest rate cut has driven the dollar index to a nearly five-month high of 106. As a result, the rise in the US dollar index at this stage has led to a certain passive depreciation momentum in the RMB exchange rate. Looking ahead, Feng Lin believes that the dollar index may continue to remain strong before the Fed starts to cut interest rates, which means that the RMB exchange rate may still face some passive depreciation pressure. However, as the domestic economy continues to rebound, the RMB exchange rate will be more strongly supported.

3. At the fourth meeting of the China-US Economic Working Group, China expressed concern about the US economic and trade restrictions against China

According to the official website of the Ministry of Finance, Liao Min, Vice Minister of Finance of China, co-chaired the fourth meeting of the Sino-US Economic Working Group with Vice Secretary of the Treasury Shang Bo on the sidelines of the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C., USA. Focusing on the implementation of the important consensus of the leaders, the two sides conducted in-depth, pragmatic and constructive communication on topics such as the global and Sino-US macroeconomic situation, balanced growth, and communication arrangements for the next step. The Chinese side expressed concern about the US economic and trade restrictions on China, and made further responses on the issue of production capacity. The two sides agreed to continue to maintain communication.

4. Ministry of Commerce: Conduct a final review investigation on the anti-dumping measures applicable to imported electrolytic capacitor paper originating in Japan

The Ministry of Commerce announced that it has decided to conduct a final review investigation on the anti-dumping measures applicable to imported electrolytic capacitor paper originating in Japan from April 18, 2024. According to the recommendation of the Ministry of Commerce, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council decided to continue to levy anti-dumping duties on imported electrolytic capacitor paper originating in Japan in accordance with the scope and tax rate of the taxable products announced in Announcement No. 17 of 2019 of the Ministry of Commerce during the period of the end-of-term review and investigation of anti-dumping measures. The anti-dumping duty rates imposed on companies are as follows: 22% for Japan Takashi Paper Co., Ltd., 15% for Daifuku Paper Co., Ltd., and 40.83% for other Japanese companies.

International News

1. Iranian President: If Israel launches an attack on Iran, Iran will respond harshly

On the 17th local time, Iran held a military parade on Army Day. Iranian President Raisi said at the parade that Iran's previous military action against Israel was a punishment for Israel and that all countries that hurt Iran's interests would be reciprocated. He said that if Israel carried out even a small blow on Iranian territory, it would be met with a harsh response from Iran.

2. UK inflation is stronger than expected, and the pound continues to rise against the US dollar

GBP/USD has continued to move higher, rising nearly 50 points since the release of the CPI data and is now trading at 1.2467. The higher-than-expected CPI reduced and postponed the Bank of England's interest rate cut bets. UK CPI rose 3.2% year-on-year in March, down from 3.4% in February.

3. Kyodo News Agency: The Tokyo lobby wants Japan to consider coordinating with other countries to intervene in the yen

According to Japan's Kyodo News Agency, Ken Kobayashi, President of the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said he hoped the government would consider coordinating foreign exchange interventions with other countries to stop the yen from falling further. Small and medium-sized enterprises are facing rising material costs.

4. The Philippine peso fell below the 57 mark, intensifying the pressure on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to intervene

The Philippine peso fell below the much-watched 57 peso against per dollar for the first time since late 2022, adding to the pressure on the country's central bank to join other emerging economy central banks in supporting their currencies. The peso fell as much as 0.5% to 57.29 per dollar on Wednesday, its lowest level since November 2022. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli Remolona said on Wednesday that he prefers to allow the exchange rate to adjust unless it is very volatile.

Domestic Macro Economy Index