The dollar pulled back from a 15-month low on a trade-weighted basis this week as China’s currency policy came under the spotlight. Ahead of the visit of Barack Obama, US president, to Shanghai and Beijing, China gave the first hint that it might be preparing to let the renminbi appreciate.

Speculation mounted that China was preparing to let its currency appreciate after the People’s Bank of China omitted a phrase promising to keep the renminbi stable in its third-quarter monetary policy report on Wednesday.