Beijing’s hand seen as yuan hits near 7 mth high

SHANGHAI: China’s yuan jumped to a near seven-month high Thursday, fuelling speculation that the government was pulling strings to prop up the beleaguered currency in response to last week’s credit rating downgrade by Moody’s.

The currency has been in the midst of an extended slide that began in mid-2015 during the meltdown in China’s stock markets and accelerated last year as the dollar spiked and economic growth slowed, leading investors to shift cash offshore. At one point it was at an eight-year low.