Yuan falls to 19-month low as tariffs kick in

The Chinese yuan fell to a 19-month low against the dollar today after the offshore US currency tumbled overnight amid investor concerns about the escalating trade war between China and the United States.

The yuan fell 0.2% to 7.3498 per dollar in afternoon trading, after hitting 7.3505 per dollar earlier in the session, its lowest level since September 2023.

The offshore yuan pared some losses and rose about 0.62% to 7.3812 per dollar in Asian trading, after falling more than 1% in the previous session and reaching an all-time low of 7.4288 per dollar overnight, according to Reuters. The declines come as the trade war between the world’s two largest economies escalates, and after China’s central bank loosened its grip on the currency in what analysts said was an attempt to withstand the blow to exports.