John Snow, US Treasury secretary, gave another strong hint on Thursday that his department was likely to formally accuse China of being a “currency manipulator”, saying the new exchange rate regime Beijing introduced last summer has not led to greater currency flexibility.

During a visit to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Mr Snow said China had made little progress towards a more flexible exchange rate after it introduced a currency regime last summer, and that this would influence the Treasury’s next report on trade and exchange rates.