人民幣繼續貶值 股市暴跌再次熔斷

HONG KONG — Trading was halted on China’s stock market for the second time this week, as stocks plummeted on Thursday over concerns about the country’s currency and the health of the economy.

香港——週四，關於人民幣匯率和中國經濟狀況的擔心促使股市再次大跌，導致中國股市交易本週第二度提前終止。

It has been a rocky start to the new year, with worries over China shaking the confidence of investors around the world and creating volatility in the markets. The big fear is that China’s economy is slowing down, crimping global growth.

新年伊始開局不利，對中國的擔憂，在全球各地都撼動了投資者的信心，並且在市場上製造了波動。一個重要的憂慮是中國經濟正在放緩，而這會抑制全球增長。

A downbeat Chinese manufacturing report on Monday sent stocks spiraling, prompting the country’s market to close early. It also set off a global rout, with stocks in Europe and the United States getting hit.

週一發佈的一則中國製造業數據並不樂觀，股價隨之大幅下挫，導致中國股市提早收盤。它還導致了全球市場下挫，歐洲和美國的股價都受到了衝擊。

The latest tumult centers on the Chinese currency, the renminbi.

最新的波動源於中國的貨幣人民幣。

The Chinese government, which closely controls the renminbi, has been allowing the value to steadily decline. It is a difficult process to manage, especially as companies and individuals pull money out of the country at a rapid rate.

嚴格控制人民幣匯率的中國政府，開始允許其幣值穩步下行。這個過程很難控制，尤其是當下企業和個人都在迅速地將資金轉移到境外。

The currency’s moves on Thursday served to spook a’s central bank in the morning set the rate for the renminbi at 6.5646 to the dollar, its lowest point in almost six years.

人民幣匯率在週四的波動讓投資者感到驚悸。早間，中國的中央銀行將人民幣兌美元匯率的中間價設在了6.5646，這是近六年來人民幣幣值最低的水平。

The weakening currency was likely to lead to a capital outflow and tightening monetary conditions in China, said Li-Gang Liu, the chief economist for greater China at the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group. That, in turn, he added, would exacerbate the sell off in markets.

人民幣走軟可能會導致資本外流，進而使中國貨幣環境趨緊，澳新銀行大中華區首席經濟學家劉利剛表示。他又補充道，這回過頭來可能會加劇市場的拋售。

In theory, a weaker renminbi addresses two of China’s problems. It would make China’s exports more competitive in foreign markets, offsetting part of the surge in the country’s blue-collar wages over the past decade. And it would make foreign companies, houses and other overseas investments seem more expensive.

理論上，人民幣貶值可以應對中國的兩個問題。這會讓出口更有競爭力，緩解藍領工人工資增長造成的壓力；也會讓投資外國公司、房產和其他海外投資成本增加。

The trick is preventing a gradual decline from turning into a rout.

但如何避免逐漸的貶值演變成匯率跳水，是個難題。

Managing the currency is becoming harder for China. Mainly domestic investors are moving money out of the country before the buying power of their renminbi slides any further.

中國貨幣管理正在變得更加困難。國內投資者正趁着人民幣購買力變得更低之前向國外轉移資金。

China’s own economy has also been steadily slowing, making it a less attractive place to invest. Fourth-quarter growth, which will be reported later this month, is expected to be 6.9 percent, although some economists have expressed skepticism about the reliability of the figures.

中國自己的經濟也在穩步放緩，讓投資環境變得更不理想。第四季度的增長會在本月晚些時候公佈，預計在6.9%左右，但一些經濟學家已經在質疑這個數字的可靠性。

Taken together, the currency weakness, the economic slowdown and the stock market turmoil could force the government to take action. When stocks sold off last summer, China organized large-scale purchases by government-linked brokerages and investment funds.

所有因素相加，會迫使政府採取行動。去年夏天股市拋售潮的時候，中國動員了有政府關係的經紀公司和投資基金大規模收購。

Some of those measures, though, may be adding to the current pain.

但一些應對措施可能會加劇當下的痛楚。

Under a new rule, trading stops for 15 minutes when losses hit 5 percent, a measure known as a circuit breaker. But the cooling-off period may be intensifying the sell-off.

根據新規則，當股市跌幅達5%時，交易停止15分鐘，稱爲熔斷機制。但這個冷靜期可能會加劇拋售。

As trading opened on Thursday, Chinese stocks plummeted, triggering a circuit breaker for the second day this week. The circuit breaker forces trading to stop for 15 minutes when losses hit 5 percent, as they had done on Monday. Once trading resumed, the losses continued, taking stocks down 7 percent and forcing trading to stop for the day.

週四交易開始後，股價開始跳水，觸發了熔斷機制。這是本週第二天熔斷機制被觸發。熔斷機制在股市跌幅達到5%的時候迫使交易中止15分鐘。週一也發生了這種情況。交易恢復後，跌勢繼續，跌幅達7%，迫使全天交易停止。

The CSI 300 blue chip stock index finished the day down 7.2 percent. The Shanghai composite index fell 7.3 percent, while Shenzhen plunged 8.3 percent.

滬深300藍籌股指數收盤報跌7.2%。上證綜指跌7.3%。深圳股市跌8.3%。