The US Treasury Department said Beijing is moving steadily but slowly towards a flexible foreign-exchange regime as it once again chose not to label China a currency manipulator, the Wall Street Journal reported. The verdict, detailed in the Treasury's half-yearly currency manipulation report to Congress, was widely expected. Having failed to denounce China in previous reports, it was unlikely to start doing so now, given that the yuan has risen more rapidly — 0.5% against the dollar in the second half of 2005 and 1% in the first half of 2006 — in recent months. However, it did observe that the 6% rise in the yuan, following the abolishment of the dollar peg in July 2005, was far too slow.
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