China's efforts to open its currency market will benefit the country and the world economy, but policymakers must be wary of risks from volatile international capital flows, a top Federal Reserve official said.
Richard Fisher, president of the Dallas Fed, told an event at the University of California, San Diego, that he did not believe the U.S. dollar's role as the key global reserve currency would be challenged any time soon.
“Despite the best efforts of the Congress of the United States to fritter away that privilege through reckless fiscal policy, I do not expect the supremacy of the dollar to face an immediate challenge,” he said.
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But he said the euro — despite the currency bloc's current difficulties — and the yuan could eventually rival the U.S. dollar.
"I think it safe to say that such a change will not happen overnight or even within the next decade," he said of the renminbi.
Regarding Europe, he added: "We shouldn't underestimate the political will among Europe's leaders to put in place measures that will ensure that the euro comes through its present crisis," Fisher said.
In a speech that did not directly address the outlook for the U.S. economy or monetary policy, Fisher said he was worried that rising labor costs would crimp China's growth.
He urged the authorities to open up the banking sector to competition from private institutions by reducing barriers to entry.
In its most recent policy concession, China widened the yuan's daily trading band in April, a milestone step in long-pledged plans to open its closed capital account and allow market forces a greater say in setting the value of the country's currency and interest rates.
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