The yuan’s plunge against the rival dollar underscores fears that China’s floundering economy will weigh on global growth

The Chinese yuan is plummeting against its main rival the US dollar, fueling worries that a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy will drag on global growth.

The renminbi fell as much as 0.6% Monday to just under 7.22 yuan per dollar, trading at a seven-month low versus the greenback.

The yuan’s plunge against its US counterpart comes even though the Federal Reserve paused its interest-rate hiking campaign last week, which would typically be expected to weigh on the latter currency by denting its appeal to foreign investors seeking higher yields.

The renminbi’s fall has coincided with increased worries about the health of China’s economy after Beijing ended its hardline zero-COVID restrictions late last year, with industrial production slowing and import and export levels tumbling in 2023.