RMB posts record drop against US dollar

The renminbi lost nearly a full percentage point against the US dollar at the close of business Monday, the largest single-day decline since China's currency was unpegged from the dollar in mid-2005, the Financial Times reported. The renminbi closed at RMB6.8842 to the US dollar. Pressure from the US government previously led Beijing to allow the renminbi to gradually appreciate against the dollar over the course of the last three years, but the recent relative stability of the dollar-renminbi exchange rate has led some to believe that the stage of gradual appreciation is ending. Comments from President Hu Jintao over the weekend on the economy have led some analysts to speculate whether China is moving toward a new currency exchange policy in the face of the mounting global economic crisis.