On Monday, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to accuse Russia and China of playing a “currency devaluation game,” which he finds to be unacceptable. This comes as the United States embarks upon tense trade negotiations with Beijing and wages in geopolitical battles with Moscow.
Trump tweeted:
Russia and China are playing the Currency Devaluation game as the U.S. keeps raising interest rates. Not acceptable!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 16, 2018
(The comments to his tweet are interesting because nobody is mentioning the biggest currency manipulator: the Federal Reserve.)
But are Russia and China even playing a so-called currency devaluation game? Not according to the data.
Here is the Russian ruble‘s value over the last five years:
Except for the collapse in value amid the Crimea annexation, the ruble has either risen or remained flat.
Here is the Chinese yuan‘s value over the last five years:
Except over the last year, the yuan has surged since 2014.
So, where exactly is this currency devaluation taking place?
One more thing: the Federal Reserve has destroyed the U.S. dollar’s value by 90 percent since its inception.
Just reading the headline my mind went to the Federal Reserve doing a swell job devaluing our currency. Did not disappoint.