HONG KONG: The Chinese yuan moved away from a recent record high on Tuesday, as the People's Bank of China (PBOC) ended a six-day run of stronger midpoint fixings to curb a rapid appreciation.
The PBOC set its official midpoint at 6.1705 on Tuesday, or 0.06 percent weaker than Monday's 6.1665 to reflect the rise of dollar index.
Spot yuan changed hands around 6.1242 per dollar around midday, near Monday's close of 6.1223. The currency touched an all-time intraday high of 6.1143 last Thursday.
Traders suspect the central bank may have intervened in the morning by asking big Chinese banks to bid for dollars, absorbing sales pressure.
"Corporate demand to sell dollars is strong today, but Chinese banks seem to be buying in the market," said a trader in Shanghai.
Market players expect the yuan exchange rate to be largely stable and to trade within a tight range for the rest of the year.
China's fundamentals are not supportive for further yuan appreciation and it may depreciate to 6.16 at the end of the year and stay at that level over 2014, HSBC analysts said in a report on Monday.
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