Central banks and Finance Ministers don't usually announce big moves in currency markets in advance, so who knows what's up with this.
On the other hand, back in 2016's "Frontrun the Bank of England for Fun and Profit" former FT Alphavillein David Keohane flagged an opportunity in corporate debt in a Bank of England announcement.
From Business Insider, September 29:
- Reuters reported that China told state-owned banks to get ready to sell dollars and buy yuan in an effort to prop up the local currency.
- The move could stem the yuan's fall, as it remains on track for its largest annual loss against the dollar since 1994.
- A hawkish Fed has pushed the dollar to 20-year highs this year, pressuring currencies around the world.
The People's Bank of China has told major state-run banks to prepare to shed dollar holdings while snapping up offshore yuan, which has continued to fall despite prior interventions, sources told Reuters.
The scale of this latest effort to prop up the yuan will be big and could provide a floor to the Chinese currency, according to the report.
The amount of dollars to be sold hasn't been decided yet, but Reuters said it will primarily involve the state banks' currency reserves. Their offshore branches, including those based in Hong Kong, New York and London, were ordered to review offshore yuan holdings and check to see that dollar reserves are ready.
On Thursday, the yuan fell 0.9% to 7.1340 against the dollar and is on track for its worst annual decline since 1994, having lost more than 11% so far this year. Earlier this week, China's offshore yuan this week depreciated to a record-low against the greenback, and its domestic unit fell to its weakest level since the 2008 financial crisis....
....MUCH MORE
