Chinese consumers believe the renminbi will drop to a 10-year low against the US dollar this year, with the exchange rate seen ending 2017 at 7.35, according to a Financial Times Confidential Research survey of 1,000 urban households. The survey result implies households expect another 5.5% depreciation over the course of this year after 2016’s 6.6% fall, a drop that would mark a fourth year of weakness against the dollar and leave the renminbi at a level not seen since the final days of 2007. This expectation is also reflected in the growing number of households saying they would like to hold at least 10% of their savings in foreign exchange, which is more than half of all people surveyed, although the appetite is highest in first-tier cities.
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