SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign exchange regulator sent a survey to some banks late on Monday asking them about their positioning in the currency market, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The survey comes at a time when China’s yuan is hitting its weakest levels since the global financial crisis of 2008, and its offshore unit is hitting record lows, succumbing to the broad strength of the U.S. dollar.
“The FX regulator asked (us) about our market views and our positioning,” said one of the sources.
Another of the sources said the survey was conducted around the time the yuan “overreacted” as some market participants were apparently “maliciously shorting the yuan”.
Two of the sources said the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) made it clear the survey was urgent.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to discuss the issue.
The SAFE did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment.
(Reporting by Shanghai and Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Vidya Ranganathan and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
