The Really Useful Gold Thread

The dollar rose to a three-week high versus the yen and gained against the euro Thursday, after a slew of economic reports dampened expectations the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates early next year.

Stocks UP, Gold down again...new DOW high.

The yuan, also known as the renminbi, strengthened to a new high against the greenback, finishing at 7.8185, compared with Wednesday's 7.8265. The yuan has shown cumulative appreciation of 3.7% versus the dollar since Beijing revalued the mainland's currency by 2.1% in July 2005.

Some members of the U.S. Congress have accused China of keeping the yuan artificially low to boost exports, leading to huge bilateral U.S. trade deficits.
Speaking in Beijing Thursday, Paulson urged China to allow for more flexibility in the yuan and talked of exploring a path to a freely tradable currency in the medium term. "Tangible results" must be seen to counter the skepticism and protectionism in the U.S., he said. But he cautioned against expectations for a quick fix.