US Keeps China on FX Watchlist, Without Designating Manipulators

The US Treasury said seven major economies, including China, were on its “monitoring list” for currency practices, while refraining in a semiannual report from designating any trading partner as a foreign-exchange manipulator.

The congressionally mandated report is designed to pressure trading partners perceived to be artificially holding down their exchange rates in order to gain competitive advantage. But last year the dollar appreciated alongside the Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening.

“Most foreign-exchange intervention by US trading partners last year was in the form of selling dollars, actions that served to strengthen their currencies,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a …