As they pulled up their morning news feeds and charts, many US traders received a big jolt upon seeing the latest moves by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). The central bank for the world’s second largest economy set the value of the renminbi fully 1.9% lower, shattering the idyllic stasis that had kept USD/CNH pinned in a tight 6.19- 6.22 range for nearly five full months. Tonight’s one-off move was the biggest devaluation by Chinese authorities since the advent of China’s modern exchange rate regime in 1994. In our view, the decision stemmed from two proximate catalysts: 1) Abysmal Economic Data Over the Weekend ... (full story)