Asymmetric effect of China’s exchange rates on global commodity prices: New evidence and implication

In the context of the ongoing trade dispute between China and the United States, our study attempts to investigate the sensitivity of global commodity prices to the appreciation and depreciation of renminbi (RMB). Using quarterly data of 1994–2016, we reach three notable findings based on linear and non-linear specifications of autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. First, the global price for selected agricultural commodities is sensitive to the appreciation of RMB, exercising downward pressure on agricultural commodity markets. Second, the global price for crude oil is found to react negatively to real appreciation of RMB. Third, the global price for selected metal commodities is found to respond negatively to changes in RMB. Based on these findings, we suggest China adopts a one-off appreciation instead of tariffs on imported commodities to prevent the fluctuation of commodity prices and realize the self-sufficiency goal.