China’s yuan slides to 14-year low after US rate hikes

By JOE McDONALD
AP Business Writer

BEIJING (AP) — China’s yuan has fallen to a 14-year low against the dollar despite central bank efforts to stem the slide. U.S. interest rate hikes had prompted traders to convert money into dollars in search of higher returns. A weaker yuan helps Chinese exporters by making their goods cheaper abroad, but it encourages capital to flow abroad. That raises costs for Chinese borrowers and sets back the ruling Communist Party’s efforts to boost weak economic growth. The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates five times this year to cool inflation that is at a four-decade high. Meanwhile, China’s central bank has cut rates.