US to delay China currency report

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US Treasury Department on Friday said it would delay a report that could label China a currency manipulator until at least May, after a series of top level meetings.

The semi-annual report, which was next due on April 15, has become a focal point for critics who accuse Beijing of unfairly keeping the yuan weak against the dollar to boost Chinese exports.

The US government said it would wait until a meeting of the G20 finance ministers and the IMF’s annual spring meetings this month and a bilateral meeting in May before publishing the document.

The last report — which also deals with the currency policies of other trade partners — was published in February, after a delay of four months.

The report stopped short of labeling China a manipulator, a move which could have resulted in punitive sanctions on Chinese trade.