Hong Kong

IT'S just what global producers of steel and aluminium didn't need: a yuan devaluation that makes the flood of exports from the world's biggest producer even cheaper.

China's shipments of steel and aluminium, used in everything from fridges to skyscrapers, surged to a record this year as the slowing economy created a domestic surplus with nowhere else to go. The surprise move by the central bank, which spurred the biggest two-day slump in the yuan since 1994, makes the products even cheaper, threatening more pain for world rivals struggling with lower prices.