THE PAST week has set recent records for Asian currencies. The Korean won dropped to its lowest level against the dollar in 17 years. The Japanese yen dropped even further, reaching its weakest against the greenback(美元（口语）) in four decades. America’s speedy economic growth and insatiable(无法满足的) global appetite for its tech stocks are raising demand for its currency. As the dollar strengthens, policymakers in Washington bristle(感到愤怒，被激怒). The treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has grouse(抱怨，发牢骚)d about the weakness of both Asian currencies this year.
过去一周，亚洲货币纷纷创下近年新低。韩元兑美元跌至17年来最低水平，日元更是跌至40年来最弱。美国经济快速增长，全球对其科技股贪得无厌，推升了美元需求。随着美元走强，华盛顿政策制定者感到恼火。财政部长斯科特·贝森特今年已多次抱怨这两种亚洲货币疲软。
At the same time, currency concerns are rising in Europe, chiefly about the long-term weakness of the yuan. Earlier this year the IMF suggested that the Chinese currency is 16% weaker than it should be based on economic fundamentals(基本面). In June Friedrich Merz, the German Chancellor, raised the idea of reprising(提出了重新实施……的想法) the Plaza Accord(1985年广场协议), the deal from 1985 signed by the finance ministers of America, Britain, France, Japan and West Germany to weaken the then astoundingly(令人震惊地) strong dollar with co-ordinated currency intervention.
与此同时，欧洲对货币的担忧也在上升，主要是对人民币长期疲软的忧虑。今年早些时候，国际货币基金组织表示，根据经济基本面，人民币被低估了16%。六月，德国总理弗里德里希·默茨提出了重提广场协议的想法——该协议是1985年由美、英、法、日、西德五国财长签署的，旨在通过协调的货币干预来削弱当时异常坚挺的美元。
Plaza occupies a totemic(图腾般的，象征性的) position among foreign-exchange traders. The dollar dropped by around 30% against the currencies of America’s major trading partners by the end of 1987. George Soros(乔治·索罗斯，著名对冲基金经理) made what he referred to as “the killing of a lifetime(一生难得的暴利)”—and his name as a hedge-fund macro trader—betting on the appreciation(升值) of the Japanese yen, British pound and Deutschmark.
广场协议在外汇交易商中占据着图腾般的地位。到1987年底，美元兑美国主要贸易伙伴货币下跌了约30%。乔治·索罗斯押注日元、英镑和德国马克升值，做出了他所谓的“一生难遇的暴利”——并以此奠定了对冲基金宏观交易大师的声誉。