The US dollar got an extra boost to start the month yesterday when the Chinese authorities fixed the renminbi at its weakest level versus the greenback since this spring, and the "trading range" for the day was larger than the range for the past 4-5 months. The timing of the move was significant considering that Paulson is meeting with his Chinese counterparts at the fifth round of the US-China Strategic Economic Dialog talks on Thursday and Friday. There is intense speculation that the Chinese may want the renminbi to weaken to support growth. Any decided effort by the Chinese to keep their currency weak would certainly support the greenback's rally. The currency has been effectively pegged to the USD for months, so the Chinese have seen their currency gain sharply on most other currencies around the world. This is a key story to watch this week.
