China's Dilemma - Status Quo or Shine

The Australian and New Zealand Dollars have been fairing pretty well these past few weeks. Optimism about the state of the economy and the transparency of government efforts to save what they can of their thriving commodity export business has done them well.

Forex traders are aware of the highs being made by these currencies, and specifically at the US Dollars expense.

The recent sale of US Dollars by China had done much to help these countries. With China being the primary buyer of their minerals and metals, the sale of US Treasuries signals China’s unwillingness to stop their rampant buying. I personally feel this is a mistake but I am glad they are doing it as it is helping the currencies I like to trade the most. The problem I see arising in the near term though is the rise in prices of core materials.

The Chinese cannot continue funding their purchases by selling off their US reserves, it will only serve to hurt the value of the Dollar in the long run – and as holders of 3 Trillion Dollars worth, it is a significant amount that they have at stake.

China needs to come to terms with the state of the economy and slow down on their spending right now. This can help them in two ways:

1.The amount of buying they are doing is causing increased demand which is driving up prices, if they slow down, prices fall and they can save money.

2. The amount of money they are spending stockpiling raw goods could be better spent taking up larger stakes in the US Dollar, by doing so they increase their political influence and are in a better position to get what they want out of the US.

As well, it will help their cause with World Bank members in their efforts to establish a global reserve currency.

Online Forex readers know all too well that things are not what they seem. The recent stock selloff in Asia has traders nervous.

IT would go a long way to calming markets if China were to step up and seize the moment here – it could also change the way people think en masse about the US Dollar and Renminbi as a valuable trading tool.