Trading volumes for the Chinese renminbi have ballooned since the escalation in tensions between the US and China over trade, reflecting concerns among fund managers that a potential breakdown in talks could dent the Chinese economy and pile pressure on the currency.
In the week ending May 10, trading volumes in the offshore renminbi were 120 per cent higher than averages over the previous month, according to London-based EBS, one of the key systems that banks use to deal with each other.
The shift comes as speculative investors square off with China’s central bank over whether the renminbi will sink to Rmb7 against the dollar, a low that has not been broken since 2008.