CHINA’S exports might increase and the yuan currency weaken as side-effects of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) bond-buying program of more than 1 trillion euros, a senior Chinese central banker said Friday.

    Vice Governor Pan Gongsheng said the ECB’s easing combined with an expected rise in U.S. interest rates by as early as June could lead the yuan to fall against a rising dollar.

    The yuan posted its biggest one-day fall in 10 months Friday at news of ECB’s QE plan.

    “The new version of the ECB’s quantitative easing will help stimulate the eurozone’s economy, which will help boost external demand and benefit China’s exports,” Pan said at a briefing.

    “The ECB’s QE… plus the Federal Reserve’s normalization of its quantitative easing policy, could lead to further strengthening in the dollar. This could in turn increase pressure on the yuan to depreciate versus the dollar.”(SD-Agencies)